


Records of the 53rd Earth Queen, Toph Beifong

by Mr_A_Firebender



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Industrial Revolution, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Biplanes v Airships, Crack, Crack Epic, Dai Li - Freeform, Earth Kingdom (Avatar), Earth Kingdom Civil War, Earth Kingdom has the numbers; Water Tribes got the talent; Kyoshi Island got the whiskey, Earth Queen Toph, Epic Battles, Gen, Has Ember Island Players (for one chapter), Historical References, Invasion of the Fire Nation, Lots of Titles, Sieges, Sokka: Seductionbender, Sozin's Comet Dogfighting, Swordfighting, The Avatar has a destiny or something..., The Earth Queen bows to noone!, Trains; Planes and Giant Siege Cannons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2020-10-29 04:07:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 67
Words: 250,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20790371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_A_Firebender/pseuds/Mr_A_Firebender
Summary: "I didn't know *why* I woke up covered in blood *and where did my eye go?*, but I grabbed a flask of whiskey and...much better"Delve into the Imperial Records of Her Imperial Majesty's Imperial Consort who also doubles as a Imperial Recordkeeper. A crack epic spanning the final year of the Hundred Year War.In the Earth Kingdom, the monarchs are supposed to be detached from worldly manners. "Naw" -Toph. Join Toph and the Consort, a Kyoshi Islander, as they try to modernize the impossible. Lots of backstabbing, intrigue, bloodshed and whiskey drinking line the path to a Golden Age! Updates often.65: A Princess has some retrospective wisdom, a immortal assassin offers his own.





	1. The Unofficial Coronation of Toph

**Author's Note:**

> 1000 HITS, each of you inspires me to write another thousand words. 
> 
> 1000 hit goal accomplished! Sequel series to this will take up just after this left off! An Earth Kingdom World Tour and Dai Li shenanigans will ensue! 
> 
> Chapter 4 is the Coronation, 7 is the Sally of Ba Sing Se, 20-21 is Day of Black Sun, 30 is Siege of Yu Dao, 35-39 is Sozin's Comet, 49 is Osaka, 58-65 is Caldera Redux Edition
> 
> Enjoy the rise of Toph!
> 
> I don't actually need to do that much editing past the first five or so chapters. I made the Consort figure out a rhythm to how he recorded events and try to stay consistent with that since.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some quick facts going forward:  
Toph's 14 (soon to be 15 come mid-spring)  
The Consort's 16, or he would be because he's lived through 16 winters, he's a Kyoshi Islander and a cousin to Suki.  
Everyone else is same age as in the series.

PREFACE:

His Majesty, the Imperial Consort, was born on Kyoshi Island during the 4th year of the 52nd Earth King's reign, or 83 years into the Hundred Year War. His exact date is unknown due to a lack of calenders in the rural Earth Kingdom. He was born sometime during Kyoshi Island's weeks of endless darkness. He was the nephew of the Magistrate of Kyoshi Island, Oyagi. He grew up on Kyoshi Island. He was one of only a couple living individuals at the with the blood of Avatar Kyoshi. One of only two to be a male. He was a nonbender. As such, he was given a intense training in the martial arts, leadership and the ethics and values of Kyoshi. His cousin Suki was the heiress to the Magistrate in addition to being the Captain of the standing army on Kyoshi Island: the Kyoshi Warriors. At the age of fourteen, his uncle was contacted by the House of the Flying Boar, Lords of Gaoling with a offer of marriage. Lord Lao Beifong would take the young man as his ward and heir in return for marriage to his daughter, Toph. In addition, Kyoshi Island would receive a massive dowry and would become part of the Royal Scion.

Oyaji accepted the offer and dispatched the young Consort to go to Gaoling. Instead, he took a indeterminate amount of time -as it is unknown _when_ the marriage offer was sent- traveling the then-Fire Nation Colonies. He befriended the Governor and Lady of Shirahama and worked under them for a unknown amount of time. At this point, he was inducted into the White Lotus through the Governor. With spies across the Southern Earth Kingdom, the Lord of Gaoling sent his own men to retrieve the young Consort. 

Toph Beifong was the blind heiress to the ancient House of the Flying Boar, the Beifongs. She was born during the 5th spring -specifically just after the snowmelt- of the 52nd Earth King. As such, the two are anywhere between eleven months apart and a year three months apart.

He arrived at the Beifong Estate and met Lao Beifong. Lao presented to him his daughter. As he has the blood of Kyoshi and Toph has the blood of a line of strong earthbenders, the union of the two should form a new line of strong earthbenders. The young Consort was surprised to see that she was just fourteen, albeit late in her fourteenth year, as he put it in a interview, "a slave in her own home". He claims that Avatar Kyoshi inspired him to free her. The two hit it off, citing the same love of the outdoors, namely walking on dirt barefooted, and the same disliking of nobles. For the Consort, it was from the folktales of Kyoshi. For Toph, it was from personal experience.

Upon their wedding night, which happened to be the same day, the two eloped. The exact details of their journey to Ba Sing Se are unknown. As for the dates: We know, from records of Governor Yozuke of Shirahama dated Year 5 of the Reign of Fire Lord Ozai, addressed to Caldera City for the yearly census, that the "tall, auburn haired man" in his service would come to be the Consort. We know that Lao Beifong wanted the wedding, specifically the consummation, to be done as soon as possible, thus the quick wedding. As such, exact dates of the wedding are unknown. They traveled anywhere between two to four months -as they arrived just before New Years and heard news of Avatar Aang's defeat of Admiral Zhao the Moon Slayer _after_ departing Gaoling- and could've traveled any number of ways.

The Second Siege of Ba Sing Se began around the same time they reached the capital. Generals Heiji, the Scourge of the West and Shinji, the Aged Duelist, were assigned to capture the city while Crown Princess Azula would assist in the Siege. The Drill brought down the Outer Wall, allowing contingents of the 3rd and 4th Armies to pour into the Agrarian Zone. Despite being a strategic prodigy, she wanted to drive their competitive nature as long time Generals and in doing so caused the two to race towards the Palace. The Earth King was hosting a New Year's Celebration, the Spring Festival. He was completely unaware of the Siege and his Council of Five was, save General How, incompetent. Grand Secretariat Long Feng is remembered by surviving Dai Li agents to have wanted to work with Princess Azula. With the incorporation of recently built Tundra Tank squadrons, this being their first combined arms 'practical' test, the 3rd and 4th Armies crossed the Agrarian Zone at high speed.

The Generals of the Outer and Inner Wall were ordered "not one step back" by Long Feng. As such, thousands of men were wiped out in "lightning strike" attacks, so named as they are as quick as Azula's lightning strikes and equally deadly. The General of the Outer Wall broke Long Feng's commands and was executed for treason.

Crown Princess Azula was the first invader in known history to ever break through all the Walls of Ba Sing Se, albeit by air. She caught the Royal Guards by surprise due to the Festival, historians believe she knew of the Festival from past interrogations. She dodged their Surface-to-Air Rocks and massacred most of the Royal Guard with combined firebending from her and Druk and her lightningbending being extra-potent against soldiers wearing metallic iron suits. The Dai Li defended the Palace's interiors but were just as easily wiped out, their clothes easily combustable. Reaching the tables set up for the Festival, Druk trapped the nobles inside while Long Feng escorted the 52nd Earth King to safety.

The slaughter of almost every nobleman, woman and child; along with ninety five percent of the Royal Guard and ninety percent of the Dai Li complete, Long Feng emerged holding Earth King Kuei at blade point. The circumstances as to how the future Earth Queen and Imperial Consort survived this are unknown, but it is believed that Toph 'sensed' Azula's arrival and hid underground, emerging later on in a side room and unlike the nobles, prepared for a fight.

Earth King Kuei was forced to write a speech naming Toph as his successor. As she was holding on to the Consort and calling him her seeing-eye servant while bumbling about and crying, Azula concluded -her beliefs were derived from the accounts of her brother and contemporary historians- that she'd be a weak monarch and as such the Earth Kingdom would collapse on its own. In her opinion, killing the Earth King and capturing the entire Earth Kingdom would simply cause earthbender rebellions. Letting the Earth Kingdom devolve into a civil war, on the other hand, would result in dozens of warring states which could _then_ be captured by the Fire Nation during the ensuing chaotic power vacuum.

Long Feng surrendered to Azula, but Azula electrocuted him to set an example, before leaving on Druk to go hunt the Avatar.

END PREFACE:

From the Records of His Imperial Majesty, the Consort, during the last year of the Hundred Year War:

HIM’s personal journal; entry I: 

I found this handy book while <strike>looting</strike> looking through the Earth King's study. So, why not write down everything that's transpired? 

-The end of Kuei:

Lady Toph and I are alive. We survived the slaughter. _Note to self: lightning sadly works wonders against...bears. _ As it is recorded in the last speech of Earth King Kuei, Toph Beifong is named as his successor. May those who eventually put these records in the Histories of the Earth Monarchs omit the part where Kuei was threatened with immolation. He then removed all his kingly clothes and rode with his pet bearout the Northern Entrance to the Imperial Palace and Northwards. He seemed quite innocent and happy in his departure. Azula, as quick as she arrived, left.

-Lady Toph’s unofficial coronation:

The few remaining guards have begun cleanup duty. There were Dai Lee agents everywhere, well, the burnt remains of them. Most of the guards had fled because _ it's not like Kuei was paying them well _ . _ Note to self: Pay Royal Guards _. Toph sat down on the Imperial Throne, while guards were dragging bodies about, and some ministers brought her the previous King’s robes. Surprisingly, the hat fit her. So she sat there and a dozen old men showed up. There was lots of “I’m sorry your grace” and in the background murmurs “How do we address someone who wasn’t royalty five hours ago but now our earth queen but isn’t yet crowned?”. They settled on “Your Highness”. 

The Minister of Coronations seemed to only have one job his entire life, to coronate people. And may the records note that he didn’t do a great job of it. He told Her Highness Toph to read off certain prayers to the gods and spirits, to which Toph laughed and told him to go drop dead. However, since she wasn’t yet the Queen her word wasn’t yet law. The group of ministers congregated before settling on just pretending she said the prayers. Then they informed her that “the Mandate of the Spirits has passed to you” and we all bowed. _ Note to self: Read up on Imperial Histories _. Her actual coronation will take place within the week. All remaining living individuals of any rank of seniority would be summoned for the coronation. Likewise, the Royal Tailors will get to work to correct the discrepancies in her Monarch clothes. 

Her official titles will be released to her tomorrow, something akin to "Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen, the Lady Beifong" plus a bunch of honorary awards to make her have more titles than everyone else in the Earth Kingdom.

-The First Acts of Not-Yet-Queen Toph

Shortly after the unofficial coronation, Her Imperial Majesty _ despite not being Queen yet that’s her title since there are no other claimants _ was asked many questions. The Minister of Coronations spent all day asking her trivialities. I was summoned to sit next to her on a Imperial-Dining-Chair since a second throne doesn’t exist. Royal Guards were still dragging bodies out of the throne room, Royal Janitors following them making the floor nice and shiny. 

At some point during all this, Toph asked the minister if, and let the records quote this, “can I do whatever I want?” to which the minister nodded. Then she decided that “these clothes aren't for me” so she pulled them off - _she slid out of them_ \- and tossed them to the floor. A couple ministers fainted. She grinned watching them fall over. And who were they to counter her? The Mandate of The Spirits passed to her not them. Due to the recent extermination of the Dai Lee, she was named "in total control" of the Earth Armies. War Ministers and the remaining members of the Five will meet with her tomorrow. _Note to self, read up on the life of Earth King Kuei_. 

So I’m currently sitting next to a naked not-yet Earth Queen who is currently picking her toes. The Royal Tailor is begging her to wear her clothes -_can't they leave the 14 year old alone?-_ but she laughed, and then he realized that her word was now law and thus he couldn’t do anything about it. I quote what she just said for future records.

“I’m the Earth Queen and you gotta deal with it”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what's even better than sitting on a throne, naked? 
> 
> Commenting.
> 
> Please do it.  
I'll see myself out.
> 
> Oh and thanks to Kimnd (your profile picture is amazing by the way https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimnd/pseuds/Kimnd) for inspiring me to write a preface! The preface will have some revisions in future.


	2. A Peaceful Discussion of War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her Imperial Majesty's first night in the Royal Bedroom and a very quick war meeting.

-HIM Entry II:

At the request of the Minister of Recordkeeping, I have decided to continue writing.

-The Bedroom:

Her Imperial Majesty requested I sleep in the Royal Bedroom. The bedroom is massive. A hundred feet across and twenty feet high. A large bed lay in the middle, with a study on one side and dotted with tables. All of it, emerald colored, images of Badgermoles and previous Earth Avatars etched into wooden frames. The soft silky blankets are a nice change of pace from sleeping on dirt or on a fur blanket that's still resting on dirt, but Toph, being someone who is happy when lying on stone, is annoyed. I write this as she rolls around next to me. The candles don't have to be blown out until I want them blown out, afterall. A courtier asked if she wanted them blown out but her response, a booming laugh, caused the courtier to bow and beg forgiveness. Neither of us are used to,  _ and probably never will be used to  _ all this courtier service. Toph had courtiers in Gaoling, but these ones treat her with respect. In addition, Toph has to get used to having two Royal Guards standing right outside her door and a hundred more patrolling the wing. I am going to sleep now, I swear if a courtier comes in at dawn I'm going to…

I am writing this in the early morning.

We were, sadly, awoken at dawn by a female attendant who first knocked thrice, though it definitely felt like a hundred times, before she barged in. I don't know what Kuei's policy was here, but it seems to be 'have attendants wake and bother you from whatever you were doing'. Toph yelled, as she doesn't like being awoken at dawn, and I tend to agree. Toph tried out her new powers on the attendant. "I command you to turn around and leave" and the attendant did just that, but not before tossing Toph a scroll. 

"I can't read, you know" she screamed at the top of her lungs, scaring the Royal Guards into jumping in, stances ready. They asked, frightened, if she was alright. She waved her hand, saying she was fine and they relaxed. She then tossed the scroll onto my side of the bed, cue for _read it. _ Let the record-keepers know this is a paraphrased version of the letter. 

_ Your Imperial Majesty, _

_ We humbly request you attend our war meeting _

_ The Once-Council-Of-Five _

I told her what is was and she decided to attend. She woke up, stomped as she stood to stretch and seemingly out of nowhere a half dozen female attendants ran in  _ note to self: are we being watched by half a dozen female attendants? _ . They brought her clothes to wear and they insisted to do her hair since she should show up looking regal. According to her, even though she'd be much happier attending every meeting naked, she chose to cave in "because it was the early morning and I was tired." The Royal Tailors worked all night, and they presented an outfit identical to the Earth King's. She had her hair done as normal, instead of the Earth King's hat she went with her normal hair-bracelet-thing  _ hey I might've spent a few months traveling with her I still don't know the name of that thing _ with white pom-poms. As for me, I put on some noble robes -_I don't need a bunch of female attendants to help me thank you very much-_ I found lying in a closet, an attendant was happy to do my hair into the Earth style topknot and affix to it a golden pin.  


-The War Room:

I write this while in the massive chambers of the Council of Five. Now it's the Council of Three.  


We exited the Royal Bedroom, the attendants stayed behind to make the bed and change the sheets, the Royal Guards bowed as we passed. They bowed to Toph as I am just her...paper reader? A dozen guards surrounded us as we walked. And walked. _When you aren't running through the palace it can really take a while to get from place to place_. After a few minutes of walking and door after gigantic door opening, we emerged. No crowds, just the echoing of guard's footsteps across the Inner Courtyard. We boarded the Imperial Palanquin and set off for the Council's tower. Turns out, it was much easier to take in the majesty of the Terra Cotta colored Imperial Palace when you aren't under artillery fire. Also the outer courtyard was cleaned quite well, it's hard to tell that a hundred Dai Lee were combusted just yesterday.

The cart stopped, a stool brought out, and she exited. I, too, took the stool, despite not needing it. Being the Royal Man-with-Eyes had its perks. 

The Royal Guards bowed as we entered, and General How met us in the lobby. He bowed, and was happy to meet the new Earth Queen. He swore eternal loyalty to her for as long as he lived. I request future record-keepers omit the following. I'm sure he told Kuei the same thing. 

The War Room is large. About the size of the Royal Bedroom, only a map of the entire world was in the center. Normally, five men would stand in a semi-circle, however it was just How and two others. According to How, the two missing Generals died in freak accidents. Both involving the walls. I spoke up and stated that maybe, just maybe, they were killed by  _ the massive war going on _ to which How stared in shock. He asked Her Imperial Majesty if I was allowed to speak, and she laughed before nodding, then he chose to respond. Usually the Earth Monarchy doesn’t know about the war going on. That’d explain why Kuei was so confused yesterday. Long Feng confessed the truth, he did run everything. 

General How has asked what Her Imperial Majesty intends to do about the Fire Nation Armies currently sacking the Lower Ring.

Her response? A bang on the table and “Let’s charge them head on”.

_ May Agni protect us all _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what's almost as good as suicide charging the Fire Nation?
> 
> A comment. I love them. Not as much as Toph but I respond to all comments.


	3. Flags, Oh the Flags!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of one flag, two arms, and a consort.

-HIM Entry III:

The remainder of the Earth Army will launch a counterattack after the Coronation. In the days leading up to the monumental event, various Ministers will meet with Her Imperial Majesty, however due to most of the discussions involving paper, I will act as her representative. 

-Flag Fails:

As I am a descendant of Kyoshi and some genius decided the sigil of Kyoshi Island is Avatar Kyoshi’s face on a blue background, the Minister of Coronations’ aides haven’t stopped presenting me with a “merged sigil” design. I can choose from the Avatar riding a flying boar to the Avatar punching a flying boar to the...Avatar and the flying boar...well the artists are pretty lewd. Then again, at the last Royal Dinner - everything is a Royal Dinner when the Queen shows up, go figure - she told the Minister of Transportation to, and I quote “go have sex with a badgermole”, so I guess the artists try to match the wishes of the monarch? 

I am writing this a day later, the designs for the Royal Heraldry have been roughly drawn out. It's up to the artists to make it look nice. Her Imperial Majesty, as it should be expected, doesn’t care for sigils as “it’s not like I will ever see them”, and when she said that to the artists they bowed and begged mercy for “such a terrible mistake.” Thusly, it is up to me and the Minister of Coronations, who does more than just wave his hands, to design logos. He insisted that we go with complicated designs, I wanted it to be one merged color, so we eventually compromised. He would insist I add supporters, such as Kyoshi and a Winged Boar, I would tell him to drop dead. He also tried to coerce me into putting Kyoshi herself on the left side and a Winged Boar on the right, but when I called the Royal Guards in and threatened to remove his head, he stopped. Having been in the Fire Nation Colonies, I prefer the simple mons they have. We settled on two designed, and by settled, I mean he was busy crying praying to Oma that I don’t have him killed  _ I love this job. _

For more complicated, unique, artifacts such as the Royal clothing, the Royal Bed, the Throne, and to be used by our bannermen, there is:

Party per pale indented Azure and Vert, a Fan Or and and a Boar’s head Argent

For the use of a flag to be distributed amongst the military forces and hung by the peasants, there is a simplified version that I prefer. Again, Fire Nation colonies and their mons.

Party per Pale indented Azure and Vert.

In addition to these designs, there’s already the current Earth Kingdom emblem and the current flag of the Earth Kingdom. There’s definitely not enough designs  _ and tomorrow is “get a title” day.  _ Also, we apparently get capes, which is great, because capes make everything better. 

-Consort:

I write this from the Royal Bedroom.

Her Imperial Majesty had another Royal Dinner. Various nobles, all fifteen of them that are still alive, were asking when she’d start on an heir.  _ Yes, a heir. She hasn’t even been crowned yet _ . I quote the following. “If you guys don’t shut up I’ll do terrible things to my royal scribe”. They didn’t listen to most of her sentence, just noting that she didn’t refer to me as her consort. Of course, they then asked for her hand.  _ After the sigil was already made. No wonder these guys lost the war _ . She then caused a fissure to open up and swallow one of the nobles - the Governor of somewhere, I don’t know- as she clarified that I am indeed her consort. He was spilled out in a nearby room where guards detained him. It was in that moment a noble toasted “to the Imperial Consort” and everyone stood up and repeated it. People raised their swords and yelled “The Imperial Consort! Long may he live!” So now I’m the Imperial Consort. Referred to as His Imperial Majesty, the Consort, I guess. Maybe Her Imperial Majesty’s Consort? Maybe His Imperial Majesty? Of course, the next thing a nobleman stated, the concept of requesting to speak to Her Imperial Majesty would have to wait until after the Coronation, was that she should produce an heir. This was already suggested, but this man chose to try it again. So Toph’s response was to _ threaten _ to “chain the consort to the wall of her room until she produced an heir.” I know Toph is one for the dramatic but that’s not a threat is it? 

I excused myself from the Royal Dinner Table and went to my study to read  _ Records of the Warlords _ , a two hundred year old scroll that covered the time period from the Yellow Neck Uprising until the Earth Kingdom’s near-unification under Chin. Little did I know, Toph dismissed dinner after I left and chose to try out her powers again. A knock at the door was my only warning before two Royal Guards burst in, tackled me, and chained my hands together. I was read out Her Imperial Majesty’s orders as I was being physically dragged across the squeaky floor. “Her Imperial Majesty wishes to chain up the Imperial Consort and drag him to her bedroom”. So if walking across the Palace took ten minutes, then being dragged would take twenty. Granted the study was a five minute drag from the Bedroom. Upon being dragged in, Toph was lying back on the Royal Bed picking her toes. Also she wasn’t wearing clothes.

Once the guards let me go, she burst out laughing. “You think I was going to do anything? I just wanted to see if they’d do anything I asked them and they did!” She then unbent the metal chains and went to sleep. 

Tomorrow, the Minister of Coronations better do his job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Earth Kingdom is Chinese-influenced, but in my writer's liberties, I figured "why not add some Early Modern Age European arms making". 
> 
> Left half is Azure/blue, Right half is Vert/green, a yellow fan - from Kyoshi Island- on the left and a white Boar's head -the Beifong sigil- on the right. 
> 
> Rough sketch of the simplified version. https://ibb.co/rv3CNS6 . I'm not a artist and I took inspiration from the original Earth Kingdom emblem "merged" with the unofficial color of Kyoshi Island.
> 
> Y'know what's less boring than arms making? Arms making. And commenting. Comments are fun (handshakes are given to all those that comment).  
Tomorrow is coronation. Chinese enthronement ceremony references coming up.


	4. Toph's Official Coronation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chinese enthronement references abound! Her Imperial Majesty gets coronated as the 53rd Earth Queen!
> 
> Long Live the Queen!
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/20063656/chapters/47516917 I want to give credit to evie4life for giving me coronation inspiration. Ming, though a very different character here, is named in honor of the Ming from that story. Li is just some old guy here, though.  
Side note: I'd give kudos to their fic ten times over if I could. Zuko is written really well. Don't read if you're expecting jokes, it's dark. Real dark.

HIM Entry IV:

-The Prelude:

Her Imperial Majesty ordered the gates to be opened, letting in a torrent of peasants into the Upper Ring. Chaos ensued as gaggles of peasants stormed Upper Ringer houses. The Upper Ringers, all of whom happily supported allowing the civilians in, couldn’t be bothered to host them in their own houses. As a result, peasants clashed with nobles. The last time this kind of quarreling occurred, Kyoshi herself showed up and created the Dai Li. Now, the surviving Dai Li, who over the past week had scattered before lightning and fire, now returned to serve Her Imperial Majesty. Surprisingly, if you follow the advice of Crown Princess Azula and demonstrate more power than the current ruler of the Dai Li, they will swear loyalty to you. 

Toph summoned them for the purpose of gathering _ every single noble _ left alive in the city, along with all the scrolls they could and bring them to the Imperial Archives, hidden underground, perhaps more secure than the Palace itself. Having individually sworn loyalty to her, they scattered from whence they came and over the next day, gathered scrolls and men.

I read up on Coronations, Coronation practices, and some basic rules of the Monarch. _ I write this from my study, it is early afternoon. The following is a retelling of events from the day. _

-The Morning of the Coronation:

Her Imperial Majesty was awoken through a system that is being put in place. An attendant wakes me, and then I wake Toph. Since I am the only person who has a chance to even get through to her. Nonetheless, she didn’t need much stirring, she was happy to wake up for today’s events. Usually, she’d hate the concept of nobles and nobility but it makes sense that she'd look forward to _ being able to rule over all of them _ .

She was dressed in the Earth King’s _ chaofu _ robes, now dyed with a hint of blue. The robes bore motifs of Badgermoles. The distinctive collar and cuffs remained unchanged. Her head was done in a _ qitou _, her bangs now framing her face with the rest of the hair done up in the large hairpiece. On it, the same red trim as the Earth King’s hat, same Earth emblem on the front. In addition, she was given his jade bead necklace. Meanwhile, I was presented with robes that looked very similar to the Grand Secretariat’s, only with the outfit dyed blue-green (one half blue one half green). Both of us received capes, bearing the new Imperial Sigil, though mine was fur trimmed and hers wasn’t. 

As Her Imperial Majesty walked down the humongous corridors towards where she’d be coronated (the Badgermole Throne), an attendant told her that the coronation itself would feature the entirety of the Earth Kingdom’s nobility, as she wished. When she asked where the peasants were, she was told “they don’t get to come in”. So what did she do? She stomped her foot in shock and ordered the gates be opened. Royal Guards looked puzzled, as did the attendants. The girl asked if Her Imperial Majesty needing something to drink, to which I shouted “didn’t you hear Her Imperial Majesty? Open the damn gates!” Toph was humored by that comment.

We reached the Throne Room, where Head Earth Priest Li stood. Once Her Imperial Majesty entered, he and the Royal Guards kowtowed. She sat down on the Throne, I stood off to her right, next to the Earth Priest. The large doors were opened in perfect sequence. A jade seal was brought up, along with other artifacts. In a spur of the moment action, I took off for the entrance. Due to my status, three Royal Guards pursued. One held the Imperial Banner. Our steps clanged, the echoes tenfold louder than our actual running. Upon reaching the Gate, I stood atop the massive staircase and looked outwards. A sharp breeze caused my cape to flutter. Now that we halted, it was possible to take in the booming voice coming from behind us. The Coronation had begun. 

-Audiences and Expectations:

Far below us, a thousand men stood. Li began speaking “Her Imperial Majesty has the Mandate of the Spirits”. They knelt from a standing position and prostrated themselves out. The only people who didn’t were two lines of Royal Guards, bearing flags, with ornate daos attached to each one’s back, who stood in perfect lines along the path. The path itself, a long jade carpet, either line standing on the trim. The wind died down. Some nobles eyed me, but continued kowtowing (from a kneeling position, tapping the head against the ground). Li continued, speaking of how Her Imperial Majesty is the divine representation of the spirits. Of drawing power from the Earth itself, of her claims to the throne, and lots of other scripted dialogue. He recited the legendary Huang, the Badgermole King, as being a distant ancestor of Her Imperial Majesty through the Beifong line. He named her the "Queen of Ten Thousand Years", "the Daughter of the Spirits" and many other honorifics. Beyond the Inner Courtyard, however, was something of a surprise. Roughly twenty thousand peasants, wearing ragged clothes, were also kowtowing. A line of Royal Guards stood atop the low wall separating both Courtyards. Every time Li would halt, it was dead silent. Not even a cough. The wind itself was idle to witness this occassion.

The following paragraph is from the account of a guard stationed in the throneroom: Her Imperial Majesty, likely bored, chose to step off the Badgermole Throne and started running towards the entrance. Nobody could stop her. Guards eyed her but continued kowtowing towards the Throne. Another set of Royal Guards pursued her for her protection. End of account.

I had heard the running behind me, faintly, and turned to see a small figure dressed in the most ornate clothes in the world running down the massive halls, towards the entrance. Her face was veiled, barely visible. Since she was blind, always covering her face with a veil wasn’t an inconvenience. _Li added this to her right before beginning the coronation but after I had left_. Once she reached the door, she stopped. Even though she couldn’t see figures, but due to her earthbending, she could sense the massive crowd. They had finished their three kneels (which were each followed by one kowtow) and nine kowtows. The whole audience stood in surreal synchronization.

Toph whispered to me “so they brought in the peasants?”. While nobody could speak to Her Imperial Majesty, if she spoke to someone, they were required to respond or be punished by death. “Yes, Your Imperial Majesty”. She then decided that since she was Queen of all not just the Queen of the nobles, she would visit them. She took off down the stairs, flanked by her Guards, and I followed. Nobles eyed us, but couldn’t move for if you moved during this ceremony unless Her Imperial Majesty -or the Guards- commanded you, you would be killed. Once she descended the stairs, she walked instead of ran. I caught up with her and the sight of the crowd was equally surreal. All perfectly faced forwards. Not a single one looked towards her. The crowd was still silent, so the footsteps echoed. Upon reaching the Outer Courtyard, gates already swung open, the crowd gasped. People murmured that Her Imperial Majesty was here. Guards were quick to run towards the source of the sound, but I told them to halt. They looked towards us, then towards her, she raised her hand, they nodded, and then they kowtowed. 

The peasants weren’t as orderly as the nobles. They continued kowtowing but some looked towards Her Imperial Majesty. She walked up to a woman who had graced her vision, the woman started shaking, then Her Imperial Majesty broke one of the oldest rules in the Earth Kingdom. She spoke directly to a peasant. The woman looked like she had a heart attack, but Toph laughed instead. The guards were ready to kill the woman, but Toph halted them. She asked the woman about herself. She was a simple herbalist from the Lower Ring who fled inwards when the Fire Nation invaded. Toph reassured her of her safety and flipped her a gold piece. She moved on to others, random members of the crowd. She asked their occupations, and tossed them a gold piece each. At this time, the ten minutes of attention were over. The ceremony was declared finished. The crowd then shouted “Long Live the Queen!”. We were halfway back to the steps when Li then gave us our official titles, shouting them from the top of the staircase.

For Toph: “Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen, the Lady of Gaoling, Defender of the Spirits” For me: “His Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Consort, the Queen’s Speaker”. 

Toph and I returned to the Badgermole Throne, as she walked, the guards who previously simply bowed now kowtowed. I finally had a throne to sit on as well, off a few feet to Toph’s right, below her Throne and correlating dais. As is part of coronation, new items are brought in during the fifteen minutes or so of the coronation. This is due to age old tradition-turned-rule based on Spring and the month of rebirth, as the season of the Earthbenders, and by extension the Earth Kingdom, is spring. My title of “The Queen’s Speaker” meant that anyone who wished to speak to Toph would have to speak to me first. As a result, when a minister came in a few minutes later, he kowtowed and spoke to me. He asked “Would Your Imperial Majesty be interested in attending the Imperial Dinner?” I asked if that was the only option, and a courtier kowtowed and asked permission to speak. I asked her name, she said it was Ming. She explained that as the Imperial Dinner happens, there are dozens of other dinners held across Ba Sing Se. In addition, the peasants would hold parties in the streets, all in honor of the monarchy. People would obtain drawings of the newly coronated monarch and copy them. I nodded, and whispered it to Her Imperial Majesty. She nodded. I ordered the minister be dismissed. He raised himself from prostration and backed out of the Throne Room, as one cannot turn their back on Her Imperial Majesty. I thanked Ming for her information, and she too departed.

Side note to the recorders. Everything preceding the Coronation is Royal, everything afterwards is Imperial. The exception being the Guards who are still referred to as Royal Guards. Why? Her Imperial Majesty wishes to separate herself from the "incompetent puppet kings" as she aspires to be "Queen of the entire Earth Kingdom."

We discussed where she wanted to go for dinner, and to quote Her Imperial Majesty: “Fuck the ministers, let’s break some rules!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reference for the kowtowing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnEOZSNtcJI (The Last Emperor, 1987) It's still a different, albiet inspired coronation ceremony. Toph also ups and leaves because she's the Earth Queen and its not like you can stop her. The chaofu is what Kuei wears, and a qitou is what Hou-Ting wears on her head, thus I figured a Earth Queen would have her hair done in such a fashion. 
> 
> Toph opens the gates for the people because she's Toph. Since when has she ever followed noble customs when she's had the power not to? She's the Queen now and she's technically, by their own words, allowed to do whatever she wishes.
> 
> I won't lie. Coronations are much cooler than commenting, but comments make me happy.  
Next time: Her Imperial Majesty crosses paths with one teashop.


	5. Party Crashers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her Imperial Majesty goes out to the streets of the Outer Ring and encounters partying citizens and a teahouse.  


-HIM Entry V:

Her Imperial Majesty ripped off her extremely ornate and expensive headdress -and it gently smashed on the expensive flooring- and opted for her regular bracelet. Good thing nobody saw this or they would've fainted. I stuck with my Consort outfit, as this would likely be my official outfit  _ for the rest of my life, oh joy _ . At least when I asked for a fur-trimmed cape they already had one made.  _ Winterized Cape for His Imperial Majesty, the Consort _ . 

-Toph and Ming:

Her Imperial Majesty commanded me to summon Ming, the courtier. One yell to the Guards and a minute later the girl arrived. Upon reaching the Imperial Bedroom, she immediately kowtowed. Toph, however, walked up to the courtier and spoke to her directly. “Ming, will you please tell me what to expect from a street party?” Ming was still prostrated, and halfway through her response Toph gestured her to stand up, and she did. Ming explained that the entire Lower Ring would usually hold celebrations, she was but a young girl when Kuei was enthroned, however due to the war, the refugees would likely hold the parties across whatever holdouts remained. She recounted stories of when, during the 600 Day Siege, people halted their fighting to celebrate Kuei’s enthronement. Surprisingly, The Dragon of the West coincidentally had pulled back his forces at the same time.  


Toph asked Ming for her story. Ming came from the Lower Ring, her family pressured her into adopting as many noble customs as possible in the hopes of securing riches through a marriage to a member of the lower level landed nobility. Upon her telling Toph of her childhood, when she was forced to adopt customs she personally was against, Toph laughed. Toph, in return, explained her childhood in Gaoling. Ming held back a smile, smiling was not allowed in the presence of Her Imperial Majesty unless she granted it, but Toph wasn't about to chop someone's head off for _improper smiling_, she felt Ming’s nervousness and addressed it. Toph, in trying to follow proper rules - _ to make it official _ -, ordered Ming to kowtow again, and she whispered to me to name her our personal attendant. Ming overheard this, of course, and shook. I followed her command and named Ming the Queen’s Personal Attendant. She would, henceforth, sleep in a room a few feet away from the Royal Bedroom. She was elated at this promotion and happily skipped off to her quarters. The guards gave her a puzzled look but _they give everyone puzzled looks that's their job_  


-Carriage Rides:

Toph was content with leaving the palace in secret, but I told her how that’d probably be impossible  _ since she’s the Queen and all _ . She nodded, realizing that “that makes more sense.'' I called for the Royal Guards to summon a regular carriage, not the Imperial one. They nodded, before one ran off to summon the carriage. I followed Her Imperial Majesty as she left the room and walked down the aisles. Guards kowtowed as she passed, three Guards following us, one of whom holding the Imperial Banner. As we strode along, I turned and halted the three and asked their names, for these were the same three Guards that had joined me earlier. The bannerman introduced himself first, Wuhan. The two other guards followed, introducing themselves “I’m Shi, Your Majesty, and this is” and the other finished him “his brother, Jie”. The bowed together. I smiled, turned, and continued walking.

Upon reaching the gates to the Palace itself, a minister kowtowed and requested to speak to Her Imperial Majesty. The five of us stopped, and I spoke up, asking what his request was. He wished to ask if we would follow him up on his offer for the Imperial Dinner. Toph, flicked her hand and he flew to the side, hit by a rock pillar. The Dai Li Agents standing at the door, the entrance itself had both Dai Li and Royal Guards, sent rock gloves and detained him. The guards knelt and asked what was to be done with him. Toph simply walked past, as I passed them I told them that her action was simply her way of rejecting the offer. They then asked if she wished him dead, for disrespecting the Monarchy is punishable by death. I told them she didn’t and this was just her way of saying no.  


We descended the thousand steps to a dozen Royal Guards stood at formation. Four of them carried the Imperial Banner, and they all kowtowed as we arrived. A footstool was brought out for Her Imperial Majesty, and she got in. The coach, as with everyone else, asked me where Her Imperial Majesty would like to go. I explained that we want the carriage to simply ride down the main road, and also to leave the Banners here. The carriage itself was a simple one, curtains hung on the interior of either window, most of the carriage was wood with green seat cushions. There was little legroom, which is fine for a short person like Toph, not that fine for someone taller like me. A chest of hundreds of gold pieces sat beneath Toph, her legs not touching the floor whilst mine were cramped. I ordered to not bring so many ostrich horses, we don’t want to attract attention after all. So from the twelve guards, we requested Wuhan, Jie and Shi join us. Jie and Shi took the ostriches and Wuhan sat next to the coach. The carriage set off, out through the Inner and Outer Courtyard, then at Toph’s -whispered through me- wish, the carriage was to proceed slowly down the main road. 

The evening sun was already setting behind the walls of the Inner Ring, stretching the wall’s shadow across the city. The Upper Ring was bustling with lanterns and lights. Although it wasn’t an uncommon sight to see Royal Guards escorting a carriage, ministers were often travelling to and fro, I heard people murmuring as to who this was. Afterall, the nobles were holding their own Imperial Dinner in the Imperial Palace, so where was this person going? As we rode through the crowd, I heard people chanting “To the Earth Queen” and “To Her Majesty, long may she reign!” whilst glasses clinked and people cheered. Toph, hearing this as well, smiled and chose to break her cover. She pulled aside the curtain and opened the window. And the crowd gasped.

-The Queen of the Masses:

Instantly, people yelled out “It's the Earth Queen! She’s here!” And the crowd went silent. Far away, people were repeating that sentence. The carriage halted at Toph’s -direct- command. The crowd stared as the door creaked open. Immediately, everyone got on their knees and bowed. Toph didn’t wait for the footstool, she jumped out, causing a small amount of dirt to stir upon her landing. I slid out and exited the same door, the crowd itself seeming to back up as Toph walked forwards, clearing her a circle of space. A man, somewhere, in the crowd, yelled out “Long live the Earth Queen”. And the crowd repeated it. Toph then broke the rules again and spoke directly to the peasants. 

“Stop lying there! Let’s get hammered already!” and the crowd cheered. This wasn’t a manufactured for-nobles cheer, they weren’t synchronized, a thousand different voices and accents, cheering at once. Toph continued. “I order myself to not be the Earth Queen for a night! Fuck the rules! Talk to me as you’d speak to anyone else!” and people continued cheering. Like that, a crowd gathered around her to speak to her. Despite this, they didn’t crowd her in. People were offering her drinks and food, but she set her sights on one tea shop. Inside, the workers stirred as the owner noticed Toph ‘looking’ at it. 

“Your Imperial Majesty” the elderly man with grey hair and a rough three-pointed beard stated as he bowed. He wore dark green pants, a yellow robe, and his hair done up in a long braid running down his back. In addition, he wore a yellow cap with green trim. Toph nodded, and requested that for the night, she just be referred to as Toph. The rest of the tea shop, which was standing at attention, relaxed and went back to work and drinking. Since she was going by first name basis, he introduced himself as Mushi and gave us a table next to the kitchen. A young man, black haired with a profound scar covering his left eye, nervously came up to both of us and asked what we would like. Toph asked for “whatever the special is”. Mushi heard this, turned around and explained that he had come up with this tea called Tapioca. The black haired man winced upon hearing the word. Mushi then introduced the wincing teenager as his nephew, Lee. We exchanged greetings with him bowing slightly before Toph. Toph asked to try the Tapioca tea and I went with Green. The old man went on about how special the teas are, to which I murmured under my breath that “all tea is just hot leaves”. Thankfully, this wasn’t overheard. The crowd that had gathered outside seemed to peter out as people actually left Toph alone. That said, every other minute someone would walk in to wish her a long life and a good reign and she’d laugh and say “wait on saying that, let me drink up first!” and they’d laugh. Outside the front entrance, a painter came up, bringing his equipment, and began painting. At one moment, he asked that Mushi stay still, forming a scene where Mushi is stood pouring Toph tea. Her regal robes shining off the interior lights, illuminating her figure to make her seem utterly divine. The clatter of voices framed the entrance and every other minute a toast was called to the health of the Earth Queen.  _ I’m sure they don’t do this toasting this often _ . It was always followed by cheers. Street music played as young couples danced not far from the painter. Sometimes they’d look in and see the Queen herself sitting there, looking back at them with her glazed eyes. She tried the tea and exclaimed that it was alright. Mushi thanked both of us, and we both thanked him for his outstanding tea. Meanwhile, Shi, Jie and Wuhan were sitting at a table across the lane from us, also enjoying their tea. Toph stood up and called Mushi over. She ordered him to bow and stated that he was invited to serve tea to her tomorrow. It just so happens that Wuhan carried an Imperial Seal with him at all times - _ part of being the personal guard I guess _ \- and I wrote down the invitation and Wuhan came over and stamped it. The five of us then departed. 

I turned to look at the painter. It was an image of Queen Toph, sitting, as Mushi pours tea. Somehow he captured the tea  _ as it was being poured _ . The back of my head was visible. Likewise, the three Royal Guards were clinking their cups together. Around us, people were drinking and relaxed. It was perfect. I ordered that this image be copied. Then an idea hit me, and I summoned him to join us on the ride back to the Palace. The middle aged man would be made Court Painter. He would copy this exact painting and in return get a guest room. His quick painting skills and realism earned my respect. Toph, obviously, doesn’t care for pictures, but on the other hand she also won’t stop me if I invite people. 

The crowd cheered as Toph got back in her carriage. Now with an easel cramping me even further - thankfully the painter sat next to the coach-, we concluded the best course of action was to get rid of the gold chest. Thus, as we rode down the street, Toph had me toss coins out  _ since I can aim _ . So I opened the window, the less famous of the Imperial couple, but still known, and tossed coins out to random passersbys. People cheered as they clutched them. The chest had five hundred gold coins in it, by the time we reached the Imperial Gates, it had none left it in. The previous noble who owned this would probably be distraught,  _ but I don’t care _ . The crowd didn’t stop cheering until the gates fully shut. Upon reaching her quarters Toph ordered Wuhan kowtow before her and named him the Captain of the Guard.

I write this from the next day, sitting next to the Badgermole Throne while we wait for lunch. Off to our side, the Court Painter continues copying last night’s painting by hand, now named “The Queen at the Jasmine Dragon”, since the teahouse was apparently named that. It would be a rarity due to its quality and size, something hung in governmental palaces and Upper Ring houses for centuries to come. He is also working on another painting, a close up of Toph sitting with her hands together. This is a small, wanted-poster-sized painting. Regular printing presses will work for copying it. Thus it can be spread across the Earth Kingdom, so now citizens can have a image of Her Imperial Majesty in their homes.

Ming precedes the duo, opening the door for them. Toph’s voice booms, greeting the two of them. “Welcome, Mushi and Lee, to the Imperial Palace.” She says while getting up from her courtly kowtow. Guards stand at attention, as usual. “I trust your ride here has been safe?” she asks. Both nod, and Mushi’s soft voice responds. “We had a wonderful ride, Your Majesty, and are honored to serve you tea.” I am putting the quill down to have tea.

I am now writing this right after being served tea. Mushi is an excellent teamaker and should be given a medal. Lee is a nervous wreck, but that’s to be expected when his uncle is constantly making jokes and giving platitudes. The ground shakes. What is it? Mushi and Lee look stressed. The booming is getting closer. Royal Guards are gathering in a semi-circle around the throne. Mushi and Lee step to the side. Wuhan is asking if we’d like to leave, Toph tells him we will stand our ground. The distant door has just swung open. A guard has run in, screaming of a bison and anti-air failing. The screams get closer, a girl’s voice is out there,  _ apologizing _ . Dai Li are hiding in the ceiling.

We all ready ourselves, we ain’t going down as cowards. We die where we stand.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How will Toph handle the Avatar? What will Iroh and Zuko do?  
Hint: It involves a private dinner and one comment from Toph regarding "that the Avatar should be given a dozen concubines to restart the Air Nation...so we can open up a trade route".
> 
> Oh, and I love comments as much as Iroh loves tea.


	6. The Avatar and the Earth Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awkwardness ensues as three different groups converge in one spot. Possible International Diplomatic Crisis about to happen. 
> 
> Thus begins the standard chapter length, around five pages. Also introduced in this chapter is POV shifts, which don't come back often as I believe they should only be used in specific instances (this is the Consort's records, so they are used to fill in the gaps).

The following is transcribed from the Personal Journal of Her Imperial Majesty’s Captain of the Guard, Wuhan Zheng. From his Journal entry titled “Day One of the Reign of the 53rd Earth Queen”.

-Captain of the Guard:

I write the previous morning’s actions down while on duty, as approved by His Imperial Majesty.

Last night, Her Imperial Majesty named me the Captain of the Guard. I went to sleep right before midnight, the shock of the award left me unable to fall asleep so I chose to double up with Her Imperial Majesty’s night guard, Xue, until I could finally retire to my chambers. 

A courtier ran in to wake me up an hour before sunrise, as usual. I put on my uniform, fashioned my dao to my back and marched over to the Imperial Bedroom. Upon my arrival, I asked if there was anything to report. Thankfully, nothing of note. We awoke His Imperial Majesty at dawn for prayers and court meetings. He tried to awaken Her Imperial Majesty but according to him, she chose to sleep in. His Imperial Majesty was dressed in his newly made Springtime robes courtesy of the tailors. The green on his clothes was much more pronounced, and motifs of earth coins -due to spring being the season of Earth- made his uniform look like faux-scale mail. He disappeared down the halls with guards at his side. The three of us, Shi, Jie and I, spent the morning away chatting about the war.

The Queen’s Personal Attendant, Ming, came to wake her in the mid-morning for lunchtime. At first she resisted, but after Ming informed her that its Mushi and his tea, she burst out of bed. Ming dressed her in her Springtime _ chaofu _, also much greener, and omitted the official hat and went for her regular bracelet. We bowed as Her Imperial Majesty exited the door, then the three of us followed her to the Badgermole Throne. That is where I am now.

I write the following in the afternoon. The roly-poly Mushi came in through the front door, his amber eyes glowing with happiness to serve tea. Lee brought the serving tray and put it down on an Imperial Table brought out for lunch. The ground shaking should’ve been the first giveaway. Mushi and Lee took the table and brought it to the side. They stood out of the way of the guards who, as the shaking got closer, formed a semi circle around Her Imperial Majesty. I asked His Imperial Majesty if they’d like to leave and retreat to the underground safehouse, but Her Imperial Majesty spoke directly to me and told all the guards that we will stand our ground. She’s a true earthbender. If this doesn’t prove a Mandate I don’t know what will.

One of the Guards ran in, screaming about a flying bison and the surface-to-air artillery failing. Somewhere behind him, a girl was apologizing about knocking people out. Up above us, the Dai LI were gathered in the ceiling, waiting to pounce on whoever was coming through that door. His Imperial Majesty drew his _ jian _ and shouted “For the Queen!” and we all repeated it. 

-Earth, Fire, Air and Water:

The doors came down with a blast of _ airbending _. Wind gusted in, but we used earthbending to root our stances. Her Imperial Majesty left the semi-circle, ready to face this boy head-on. Dai Li were waiting for the signal. The boy charged in, screaming of “a war and an attempted coup” that he had learned from someone. Accompanying him were two Water peasants: a waterbender girl, the one who was apologizing before, and a boy with a boomerang. However, upon seeing Lee, the girl screamed out. “Prince Zuko?!?” 

His Imperial Majesty was the first one to speak. “Lee isn’t Prince Zuko. He’s Lee, the teamaker. Why would you-” but Her Imperial Majesty cut him off, yelling “she’s telling the truth!” and we encircled the Queen. Mushi stepped forward and bowed. He confessed to being Prince Iroh, the Dragon of the West, and that his nephew was indeed Banished Crown Prince Zuko, and now both were on the run from the Crown Princess Azula. So now the room divided in three. Lee was whispering something to Mushi and they backed towards a wall, the airbender and his friends standing by the door, and our dozen guards were now gathered in a circle in the center of the room. 

“Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen would like to know what you are doing here, what you wish, and how you plan on explaining away knocking out her Royal Guards” His Imperial Majesty said, stepping towards the airbender, sword pointed towards him. He swung towards Iroh and Zuko, “and you two, why lie to Her Imperial Majesty?” The airbender got on a ball of air and flew towards the Queen. “I’m the Avatar, and these are my friends Katara and Sokka-” and two Dai Li gloves caught him and chained him to the ground. His Imperial Majesty looked up at the agents before walking over to the Avatar. “Why would the Avatar burst in here? Did you take more after Kuruk than Roku?” The airbender swept his legs around, sending a gust of wind that blew His Imperial Majesty backwards. Two Royal Guards caught him. The waterbender girl yelled out as she ran towards the downed Avatar “we were coming to protect you from a coup!” Her Imperial Majesty laughed, snapped her fingers and the shackles were gone. She then trotted over to the Avatar, I stood at her side, ready to put a spike through this insolent kid, and she thanked them for the information. They were free to go. The three of them cautiously backed up, the boomerang boy standing there and puffing up his chest. _ Oh how frightening _. 

The waterbender still yelled about Iroh and Zuko. She wanted to know what they were doing here. Again, Iroh explained that he was a simple tea maker now. Her Imperial Majesty, in a move of kindness, gave them amnesty, saying that “any refugees of any type are welcome in My Capital. I will be returning to your tea shop for some wonderful tea in the future”. Iroh kowtowed and Zuko followed him up. The five of them were invited to a private dinner by His Imperial Majesty.

The following is a continuation of His Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Consort,’s personal journal. 

-HIM Entry VI:

-Four Nations, One Table:

Although Toph didn’t directly tell me to, I thought it best to invite the three parties to a private dinner. No ministers. No prying eyes. And considering her approving nod after I gave the invitation, she also saw -despite lacking eyes- a reason to do it.

The dinner will be held in an Imperial Guest room, with two small tables and one regular dining table brought in. The two other parties didn’t have to mingle. Wuhan, Shi and Jie will stand guard, and I’m sure if anything happens, Toph can handle herself. I will continue writing after the dinner. 

The Avatar’s team was on edge coming in to the guest room, but the Avatar, surprisingly, tried to calm his peers down. The boomerang boy was constantly staring at Toph, Iroh and Zuko, and then back to myself. His eyes were darting around expecting something to happen. When food was brought out, he screamed that “it’s been poisoned by Zuko”. I shook my head, took his meal, and ate it myself. The Avatar was given a massive steak, before politely commenting on his aversion to meat, but his girlfriend? I don’t know, took it from him and gobbled it down herself. Meanwhile, courtiers brought out bowls of imported Fire Flakes from Yu Dao. Zuko seemed to enjoy them, Iroh, meanwhile, had rice and made himself some tea. He offered a cup to everyone, the Avatar team rejected it, but after seeing that Toph and I were happy to drink his tea, Aang - that’s the boy’s name - asked for a cup. 

I stood up and called a toast, “for the first time in a century that the Four Nations were in one room, eating food together”. Iroh smiled and joined in, Zuko cringed - _ so his personality is just scowling and cringing? _\- Sokka kept staring at me like I grew a third eye, Katara looked nervous and Aang, either because he’s an idiot, or because he’s really nice, joined the toast. The three guards joined the toast as well, and I wished “that we may all one day soon return to a world of peace”. The guards yelled in approval, Iroh nodded and Aang said something to himself.

But Toph, being Toph, decided that _ being polite was overrated _ . So she asked the Avatar how he’d repopulate the Air Nomads. I had to hold back a laugh, as did the guards, because we realized that _ this is the Avatar who can, if desired, cause this entire palace to disappear in seconds _ . But before we could apologize, the now fuming waterbender asked why Her Imperial Majesty wanted to know, her face turning a flaming red. So, Toph, being extremely diplomatic, stated that she was happy to “find as many concubines as the Avatar needed” to help “restart another nation with which she can open trade lines with. After all, currently our only trade partners are colonies that sometimes hate us and the Northern Water Tribe that’s constantly being blockaded”. The Avatar, seemingly, was just as bad at diplomacy. He had no clue what Toph was talking about, so he asked Katara. The rest of the room sans Zuko and Sokka broke out laughing. The two of them exchanged looks. _ See! They found something in common! Diplomacy, everyone. _ So we watched as Katara tried to explain to Aang the following: What a concubine was, what Her Imperial Majesty was implying, and what trade routes were. Aang was very clueless, it seemed. 

Amidst the laughter, Iroh requested to suggest something to Her Imperial Majesty. I told him to go ahead but go through me first. He apologized, giving a very light courtly bow -royalty to royalty- and suggested that “maybe The Avatar should save That Talk until his private chambers.” I stifled my laughter at the thought, before then tapping Toph on the shoulder and telling her. She nodded and, again, broke any semblance of rules by screaming out “Hey Katara, can you please wait until you and Aang return to your chambers to talk about how babies are made?” Katara turned towards Toph and swapped her blushing for anger. Trying to calm down the international-crisis-in-the-making, I suggested that “His Holiness, the Avatar, and his friends, are cordially invited to stay at the main Imperial Guest House for as long as they wish. With a Siege going on, they will be kept safe on the palace grounds.” After some whispering to each other, Aang accepted the proposal. I stuffed my hands in my robe, _ crisis averted _ . I ordered the guards to lead them to their guest house and insisted a Royal Guard be present to guard the guest house. As I explained to Aang, “Your Holiness is a world leader, and when world leaders visit our home they will always be offered to be guarded.” He rejected the guard proposal, probably thinking _ wow what a master Pai Sho move. Or he’s just a kid. I don’t know _ . Didn’t matter, I ordered that a Dai Li agent keep watch of his Guest House at all times. _ There were always Dai Li agents watching all the corners of the Palace Grounds and half the city, but I wanted one specifically assigned to this spot _. 

The three of them left, a guard escorting them to the Guest House. Toph and I could finally get to the meat of the dinner, Iroh. I was inquisitive as to what he was doing here. He explained his backstory, and that of Zuko’s. An hour long story, covering his time as a General, the patricide committed by Ozai, Zuko’s banishment - to which Zuko cringed - their chase after the Avatar, then Azula being sent after them -thus the truth in being refugees- and their journey across the Earth Kingdom eventually winding up in Ba Sing Se. Surprisingly, only a few weeks ago they got to Ba Sing Se, but due to his prowess in teamaking, Iroh was given his own tea shop. All of this with a calm demeanor. 

His story over, Toph asked him what his goals were. Was he going to push his claim for the throne? What about Zuko? She informed him that Azula already came and went a week ago and that she’s likely off to the Fire Nation. Again, she offered that they could stay in Ba Sing Se for the rest of their lives if they wished. Now knowing their official ranks, she offered to treat them as royalty-in-exile and upgrade their status. They would be given money monthly, weekly if needed, they wouldn’t have to pay taxes, and they’d be left to their own bidding. Nobody would have to know they were here. Iroh stated how thankful he was to Her Imperial Majesty for the offer, and that he’d have to consider it. Zuko, meanwhile, seemed uninterested and murmured how he wanted to flee as far from the word “Prince” as possible. 

Dinner was dismissed, the duo were escorted back to the Outer Gates and then left for the night. After enjoying some alone time with Toph, both of us making jokes at how many important members of the world were located in one room, I asked if she was serious with her concubine offer, to which she said and I quote “you think I’m going to fuck all these women lying about? Probably not, so the Avatar can have them. An army of airbenders sounds like a great idea doesn’t it.” I nodded, extremely confused at where she was going, then we spent twenty minutes discussing which nation would have a say in all these possible airbender children. Would the Avatar start a Air Nation of babies? Isn’t he twelve? Would the Earth Kingdom get them de jure? Would we get to make some of them Royal Guards? What if he has children that aren’t airbenders? 

So we settled on the following. All Airbender children would go to the Avatar, as would a horde of courtiers and attendants who would help take care of all these children. In addition, educators and tutors would be sent to wherever the new Air Nation is founded. A military garrison and compound will be built for the first generation’s protection. He will be treated as royalty, any named successor would as well, and we will provide the Nation with copies of any Air Nomad scrolls the Archives have. Go figure, Toph gets bored making her own diplomatic moves, but deciding the fate of an entire _ other _ nation? “Sweet”. Minutes and minutes later, we both forgot that we haven’t actually proposed it to the Avatar yet. So Toph commanded me to find the boy, ask his opinion, and if he says yes “to begin the process tonight”. _ Thanks Toph _.

Well I did eventually find the Guest House. Not that hard since a giant flying bison was parked outside and _ it _ growled at me when I arrived. Guards were ready to pillar it into oblivion, but the boy had emerged due to the commotion and calmed _ it _ down. Most things I am not terrified of, but that thing? _ It scares me _ . Aang bowed before the team of four standing next to his door. We exchanged greetings and he invited me inside. I was surprised by his lack of manners, his stuff was scattered about the room and his friends were wrapped in sarashi cloth only and the girl _ screamed _ when she saw me, automatically trying to cover herself up despite already wearing clothing. I backed out of the room but got a water whip to the chest, with her crying out that _ I’m the immodest one _ despite Aang being the one who brought me in. She’d believe him over me anyhow. I stated that I was here to apologize on behalf of Her Imperial Majesty’s crude comment earlier. Katara crossed her arms and Sokka emerged from the back bedroom, scowling. Aang, ever the nice man, accepted my apology to which his two friends seemed ready to explode. He then turned and asked Katara “what was the talk that Iroh wanted us to have?” Katara looked up from his precious childish smile and stared at me. Katara, furious, asked Sokka to explain “the talk” to him. Sokka took him aside, while Katara kept fuming at me. She asked, and I quote, “What kind of jerk is the Earth Queen to say such a thing to poor Aang?” I bowed, beyond court limit, and repeated that I came here to apologize for her indiscretion. It didn’t really matter, I got a water whip to the eye and fell backwards, and as I hit the wood she screamed. I don’t know what she screamed, as I’m writing all this from the infirmary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unlike Her Imperial Majesty, Wuhan genuinely believes in the Spirits and Mandates and such.
> 
> I believe in comments. What do we say to the god of commenting? Not today! Wait. Damnit.


	7. The Fist of the Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His Imperial Majesty leads a counterattack against the Fire Nation to break the Siege of Ba Sing Se.  
Enjoy the chapter! I had a lot of fun writing this.

-HIM Entry VII:

-Healers and Infirmaries:

Unsurprisingly, when I first opened my usable eye, seeing Katara looking down on me was _ not _ what I expected. I screamed for the guards, who ran in and bowed. I asked what “this woman” was doing here to which they apologized and explained that she was a healer. If I was Toph I’d probably have made a snarky comment about the person who knocked you out also healing you. Instead I just lied there and stared _ directly upwards _ at the figure _ that kept blocking out the light _. 

Her Imperial Majesty coming to visit me was no surprise. Even with one good eye, I could see the guards kneeling over from a distance. She entered the very-well-lit room and _ shoved _ the girl _ with all the healing water and skills and the potential to cut my face in half _ aside to give me a shoulder punch. Katara had to get used to having a monarch who doesn’t act like a queen or a noble, chest height, pushing her aside. Apparently, Katara was healing me because she was “sorry” for what happened. That’s pretty great. What’s not great is spending actual hours having some girl who isn’t even part of your court _ looming _ over you. What makes it worse is that this girl has the potential to kill you if her hands slip. When Katara had left for five minutes to go find the bathroom, a bunch of ministers and Her Imperial Majesty came in to visit me again. I clearly remember commenting to the War Minister that “You gotta love the Water Tribes, a bunch of impolite backstabbers who heal you _ after _ they almost kill you” and the room burst into laughter. Including Toph. Katara re-emerged and was confused at all the laughter, but Shi told her it was just a in-joke about badgermoles and that in the Earth Kingdom if Her Imperial Majesty laughs, everyone else must as well. So Katara laughed, before walking back over to my face. Alas! The time of the light is over, back to being loomed over. 

For the first time in my life, I learned what boredom was like. Sure I could move my hands, but what was I supposed to do with them? Katara was standing in a ...inappropriate position for my left hand. After lying there for another hour, I finally opened my dry mouth and did two things. I asked for water, which Katara effortlessly pulled out of a nearby bucket and _ dropped _ into my mouth. And I asked “What are you doing?” Katara tensed, obviously angry about something, and the water fell from its position in her hands and landed on my face, matting my hair and face. I chose to clarify, asking “my eye hasn’t changed at all in the past hours, how do you know you are accomplishing anything”. She replied, coldly, something about knotted...something I forgot. The next day I chose to leave the bed, right eye wrapped in a bandage. I thanked her, bowed, and she departed for the guest house.

According to the Imperial Physician, I should be able to see out of my right eye eventually. He doesn’t know when. I departed for the Badgermole Throne, a day of work to catch up on.

-Counterattack Plans:

The guards at the door, the twins Song and Jong or Jeong I believe, were delighted to see me, and swung the doors open to the Throne Room. Her Imperial Majesty was sitting on the Badgermole Throne as I entered, picking her toes. Beneath her, a massive circular table was set up, three Generals sat facing Toph. The guards bowed first, signaling the Generals that someone was there, to which they turned and bowed as well. I received a half dozen compliments and well wishes, before Toph gestured for me to kneel next to her, facing the table. This was a massive circular table of the capital, obviously carried here from somewhere else. Toph had wanted the table carried here, and so it was carried here.

It featured, in great detail, the different levels of Ba Sing Se. Figures were scattered across the map, representing infantry units for both sides, bender and non-bender, Earth irregulars, Earth civilians, komodo rhinos, artillery for either side, and The Drill. According to General How, the Fire Nation seemed to be bogged down in the Lower Ring. Apparently the 4th Army overextended early on in the massive flank maneuver of the Agrarian Zone and was fighting in close quarters, being worn down by attrition. Meanwhile, the vanguard of the 3rd Army, consolidated and meticulous, had breached the Middle Ring. Yet, they had done so without verifying the 4th was reaching the same spot. It seemed as if either side was racing to reach the Palace first.

How had presented the following strategy to Her Imperial Majesty: Royal Guards and the few Veteran Battalions left in reserve, led by someone, would try and charge the 4th Army. Once they are smashed, the vanguard is to make a mad dash for the massive hole in the Outer Wall. If a dozen earthbenders can rebuild that wall, both armies will be trapped. It should be stated that this is a summarized version of his plan, being transcribed for recordkeeping. When he asked who Her Imperial Majesty would appoint to lead the army and wield her banners, she immediately yelled out “The Consort, of course!” How laughed, thinking she was crazy, but no, when he asked her again, she clarified. “I said the Consort. Did you not hear me? Do I need a new head of the Council of Five?”. General How apologized and tried to retort to her argument. “I thought maybe I would be chosen?” Toph caused the room to quake. “I said. The. Consort. Do I need to have you killed for insolence?” He then kowtowed, and begged mercy. She laughed, and dismissed the meeting, claiming she wanted to go take a nap. She told the Royal Guards to, if I resisted, shackle me and _ drag _ me wherever How needed me. 

When asked as to why she didn't want to go on the offensive herself, she said that she wanted to "wait and listen".

-The March: 

I am writing this a day later. I wasn’t shackled. I left the Imperial Armory dressed similar to the Royal Guards. My additions, to distinguish me as the commander, consisted of an Imperial cape, full arms, and an ornate Jian scabbard. All the soldiers had daos as standard issue. I stood atop the thousand step staircase and looked out at the army.

A thousand men stood below me, almost the entirety of the Royal Guard. Upon seeing the man surrounded by Imperial Banners, they kowtowed. I nodded and descended the thousand steps. I mounted an ostrich horse, with a caparison bearing the Imperial flag. My bannermen, Shi, Jie and Wuhan, were handpicked by Toph to join me. They asked if she’d rather have them protect her, but she stated that if the city fell there’d be nobody to protect. Wuhan yelled out commands ordering them to form up, and they formed into a 4 man wide line, marching in place as the four of us rode down to the gates. 

Somewhere, someone called out that it was the Imperial Consort and that he was off to fight a last stand. The crowd that was in our path parted and bowed. The air was silent as people came out of their shops to bow. I’m sure, to many, this was going to be the end. When the Royal Guards must be committed, that can’t be good. Iroh, too, exited his tea shop to watch us trot past. His face was dour, and he knelt in a different style, one of the Fire Nation, possibly to pray for our safety. I’m sure my right eye being bandaged helped to further the desperation of the situation. 

The sun crossed the sky as we finally reached the Lower Ring. The sounds of artillery fire neared. What was once distant drumming was now nearly deafening. Ahead of us, smoke plumes. A small barracks had been cleared out, that would be the staging ground of this operation. 

I write this now from that barracks, having been quickly refurbished into a command post, Imperial Banners hanging outside. There are no civilians here. They are all gone. However, when I emerged a few minutes ago before writing this, a mob of irregular civilians, men and women, were gathered outside. Upon asking what they were doing here, the de facto head, or maybe the local strongman, told us they would rather die than fall back again. The soldiers laughed. I raised my hand, they stopped, and then I came here to write up the past day’s events. Tomorrow, we shall all die. 

The following is transcribed from the Personal Journal of Her Imperial Majesty’s Captain of the Guard, Wuhan Zheng. From his Journal entry titled “Day Three and Four of the Reign of the 53rd Earth Queen”

His Imperial Majesty, the Liberator of the Inner Wall:

Shi suggested - he’s next to me - I write down the previous day’s events. There’s too much to write. 

His Imperial Majesty ordered for the army to sleep until nightfall, then we awoke and we marched off towards the flames. Hearing the distant cries of men, women and children, His Imperial Majesty turned around and gave us a speech. It wasn’t prepared. It wasn’t scripted. It shouldn’t go in the history books. “The spirits won’t save you, you won’t get money for fighting on our side, but this is your city isn’t it? Do you want to end up like Taku? The men smashing our walls are honorable, aren’t they? Let’s fucking kill them!” We all cheered. “Onwards, men! Let us pray for a quick death!” people laughed. Our senses were calmed. He turned around, unsheathed his jian, and charged forwards. Then the fire hit the earth.

Incoming artillery fire caused us all to split up. I don’t know where others went, but the four of us horsemen charged right into some surprised firebenders. With a swing of jian, His Imperial Majesty cleaved the officer’s head off. That’s what he gets for not wearing a helmet. I don’t know what happened elsewhere, but it seems as if the entire enemy army was currently asleep sans a few sentries. Due to it being nighttime, their firebending was weaker. The combined maluses afflicting the Fire Nation vanguard caused them to be outflanked and pulverized. Our goal wasn’t to destroy the force, just to capture the wall. His Imperial Majesty led about thirty of us in a full frontal assault on the Imperial Firebenders defending the hole in the wall. Now, in retrospect, a charge might not have been the best idea, but it worked. His Imperial Majesty started screaming as he charged into the dozen or so men in front of us, and they _ actually pulled back _ . He jumped off his ostrich horse and _ tackled _ one of the Firebenders before slamming the hilt of his sword against one man while slashing at another. He slashed open one man’s throat, he stabbed another man in the eye, and he kicked a third. They tried to firebend him but most of their attacks hit each other. The rest of us earthbent pillars and boulders to attack the other defenders. Heads were caved in by boulders. Some men were sent flying backwards into the wall, some were crushed together, a mess of body parts and armor coloring the blackened earth red. 

The breach was captured and we rebuilt the wall. However, His Imperial Majesty wasn’t done. He ordered a man be sent back to inform Her Imperial Majesty of the success, and also that he’d “attempt to take the Outer Wall and requests any available reinforcements”. A massive temporary stable sat nearby, with a few dozen ostrich horses tied to it, previously used by Fire Nation officers and couriers. Their bodies didn’t need them. At the time the couple dozen of us just nodded at his proclamation. Seemed sensible then. Charge the Outer Wall, rebuild in, the Fire Nation is trapped. Thus, we collected any flasks of fire whiskey we could find and attached them to our saddles. Two dozen men left that camp that night. 

His Imperial Majesty, the Mad: 

We rode out, the moon, a very thin crescent, finally emerged from behind the Outer Wall, blood red. We could see where the Fire Nation was and skirted around a half dozen outposts manned by no more than twenty Komodo Rhino riders each. It must’ve been a two hour ride at full gallop. As we rode, the heavens looked down on us, a massive salmon colored scar crossing the sky. Its veins spread outwards. The Milky Way. Eventually, we reached the outcroppings and the breach came into view. The wall itself was cleaved in twain, as if some kind of massive axe fell upon it. Nighttime made it no less attractive, the stars shone through the gap. 

His Imperial Majesty halted his ostrich horse, turned to us, and gave a speech that also doesn’t belong in any books. “Men, none of us are making it out of this one alive. So let’s drink to the Earth Queen.” And he removed his fire whiskey and drank up. The rest of us, now sleep deprived, looked onwards and laughed. Then we drank up. We tossed our glasses to the ground. We tossed out glasses aside. He insisted that we mount a frontal charge, as that should scare them into defeat, or something. He also insisted that, and I want the recordkeepers to know this, he wanted us to _ shout _ . So we rode down the hillside and came upon the camp, now inebriated _ and _crazy.

And we shouted. And it worked. 

The Firebenders were taken by surprise. I don’t remember what happened next, as it is all still a fog, but we charged in towards the breach, His Imperial Majesty called out, challenging “the general” to a duel. A dozen of my men were being combusted around me, so at the time I thought it was a stalling technique. A couple men emerged from a pavillion, Imperial Firebenders flanking a man with a long white beard. I thought the Consort was going to stall him, but nope, he’s a man of his word. He dismounted and bowed to the man. The man, illuminated by palms of fire, introduced himself as General Shinji, Commander of the 4th Army, and he pulled off his dress, apparently thinking this is some kind of shirtless event. Both sides halted and formed up, albeit on opposite sides, to watch this event. His Imperial Majesty was told to remove his upper armor, to which he did. He also tossed the bandage to the ground, as it is upper armor. Both sides halted to fixate on this scene. The Consort and The General stood back to back, kneeling. His Imperial Majesty was allowed to keep his jian, despite normally this being a firebender only duel, because Shinji stated that “I will just combust his sword at the start of the match”. Some mediator explained how normally such...dishonorable...circumstances wouldn’t be allowed, but as Shinji was challenged to a duel, the rules could be bent as long as they removed their shirts. The duelists walked apart and swung around, eyeing each other. A minute passed, then the duel began.

The One Eyed Badgermole:

The entire duel took five seconds.

Shinji ran forward, punching two fire blasts and kicking a vertical fire wave. His Imperial Majesty dodged both punches while the kick missed. He dived forwards, plunging the straight blade through Shinji’s chest.

Shinji grabbed the Consort's head and pressed his thumb into his right eye. The Consort screamed an ungodly, blood curdling scream. He kicked Shinji back, both fell backwards, bloodcoated jian in his hand. He staggered towards Shinji and slashed his sword down, decapitating Shinji. He grabbed Shinji’s white beard and held his head upside down. The defenders ran. Behind him, the growl of a behemoth signaled the reinforcements had arrived. My men ran to fill the breach as Shi, Jie and I grabbed the Consort, now collapsing. I believe the girl held herself back from impaling the retreating firebenders due to the casualty in front of her. We carried him onto the bison before the three of us, our duty complete, collapsed. When I awoke a few hours later, in the infirmary, I grabbed a quill and began writing this.

Long Live the Earth Queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned on having a eye-fakeout. This chapter, if nothing else, is all about breaking the stereotype.  
Not everyone has a world-ending superweapon inside the body of a child along with them to help. Not everyone has plot armor. Be arrogant (and inebriated enough) and you WILL be punished. This might not become clear now but in later chapters it will. You'll see.
> 
> I definitely wasn't sleep deprived when I wrote this. Nope. No way. What's better than a regular siege not as cool as a duel? Commenting.


	8. The Liberation of Ba Sing Se

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the Consort awakes from his duel and does what any reasonable person would do. Has delusions of seal meat and dinner and how to properly restart the Air Nation.
> 
> I forced myself to suffer sleep exhaustion for the sole purpose of figuring out what kind of delusional train of thought the guy would go on. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the after-battle (or: the boring part because nobody is getting their heads removed)

HIM Entry VIII: The following is dictated to an Imperial Scribe by His Imperial Majesty. 

Ow. Lots of ows. I honestly thought we were going to die. I thought that the bison was some sort of spiritual chariot and that I was going to the Spirit World. It was the screams of that girl, that annoying, kindhearted girl, that made me reconsider. Something about timing, failing to arrive on time. My left eye didn’t want to open, likely a result of the exhaustion, but my right eye...there was no feeling. Just pain. When I opened my eyelid a crack, it was just cold, whipping air that made me scream. The pain meant this really wasn’t the Spirit World, this was reality. I called out for my guards, but the boy had told me they collapsed. I barely muttered the words “heal them first” before my body gave out again. 

I didn’t wake for hours. The feeling of a dozen hands grabbing me and putting me on some kind of palanquin with no top. The voice of a raging blind girl, causing the ground to fissure. The feeling of her hands, hugging me. Telling me that my capture of the wall would win the entire battle for us. I didn’t capture it though. I just dueled...that man. Shinji? Was his name? I remember holding his head. I remember being placed in the dank smelling, now familiar, Imperial Infirmary. Then the smell of incense. The blind girl standing next to the waterbender as she knelt over me, crying. Toph’s shoulder jabs when she heard I was going to be fine. Eventually. Wuhan’s strong, northwesterner, voice, signaled his arrival. He kowtowed before the Queen, then came up to crowd me even further. (end of scribe)

I write these events while confided to a bed. Which sucks for the recorder with a desire for action.

Delusions of a Madman:

I didn't know _why_ I woke up covered in blood _and where did my eye go?_ But Toph was quick to pour some whiskey down my throat and- Ahhh. So much better. No surprise, I wasn’t dead. Of course, my eye opened to a blue kimono-tunic, not some chest-high blind girl. "Why am I covered in blood, tunic?" I said, breathing heavily into the tunic. Katara's soft hands grabbed my shaking ones and put them back down on the table. She held a finger up to my mouth. "Don't worry. That's just your blood on your hands." _Well that's_ _relieving. _ Katara moved aside, exposing my eye to the smiling Earth Queen. “So, now I’m halfway to being you, Toph” I muttered. She laughed and punched my shoulder. Katara grabbed her hand and went "no,no. He's bleeding too much. Punching-" but she was interrupted by Toph being Toph. “How do you like being low enough to smell the Northern Water Tribe’s version of deodorant, seal meat”. _Good one Toph, piss off the waterbender._ Well she was quite annoyed, and _ dared _ to insult Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen, by stating that “I’m surprised someone of your lack of class would even know what that is?” Toph laughed it off, but I watched a courtier make note to write it down. _ On second thought, I wouldn’t want to piss off the girl who could cut me in half. Accidentally. _

Toph left to go get me some titles, or that’s what she said. “In honor of losing a eye, you win a title” she remarked, happiness returning to her voice, as she left. I finally _tried_ looking around. It was a single room, candles dotting all sides, one skylight above me. Meanwhile, Katara had two bowls of water and was drawing from both, turning them a bright blue, and was working on my wounds. I picked up my hands against, instintively. She just smiled and put them back on the table. "Do it again and I'm restraining you" she said in the softest, scariest voice I've heard since Azula. I felt that I was wearing just undergarments, not exactly appropriate for His Imperial Majesty, but I guess this situation demanded it? According to a guard that had walked in to lock my arms in place, it was inappropriate for the peasant to see me in such dress, but said peasant was also my only chance at not dying, so I told him to politely go bother someone else and or make friends with a earth wall. He kowtowed and asked for my mercy, and I rolled my eye. He didn’t see the joke, I guess. He was sure to tightly restrain my arms and legs. Katara then ran her hands along my body, _poking me_. "Ow. Why?" she smirked. "Oh, I'm just feeling your wounds." I finally paid heed to myself. I had some sizeable hole in my chest, now partially closed up, and there was blood covering my lower torso.

The incense had run out, and I noticed that Katara, indeed, smelled of seal blubber. Everytime she'd run her hand over my face, and she did it often, I got a great sniff of some mouthwatering seal blubber. I have no idea why the Southern Water Tribes women concluded that that was a good pick, but they did. Because to me, smelling seal blubber just makes me hungry for a food I’ve never had. _ Note to self: invest in some fancy Water Tribe meat for me to sink my teeth into _ . So I passed my time enjoying the smell. Wondering of various situations with which I could eat some seal blubber. My mind kept returning to the battlefield, my stomach to the Imperial Dinnertable, and I think the rest of me was just confused. If Katara smelled like this, no wonder the Avatar chased her. Wait, but he’s a vegetarian isn’t it? Maybe he’s willing to give up his customs for her? How would their doing the thing work? Would she have to give up on deodorant for the night because he’s a vegan? How would that even work? _ I mean knowing Toph she’d probably want me to sire bastards just so she can make her reign less boring by pursuing bastards _, but what does Aang know? Isn’t he a monk? Would she have to explain how everything works beforehand? Why am I wondering this? Oh, yea, because Her Imperial Majesty’s previous command was for him to restart the Air Nation. Actually, she didn’t command him did she? She ordered me to find ‘a bunch of suitable women’ and drop them off like some kind of Imperial Diplomatic Courier Express service. Can’t he just do the thing with the waterbender? Oh wait, vegan vs seal deodorant. Now I’m thinking of dinner again. Mmm. Meat. At some point, she told me she had to heal some gash somewhere, something about undergarments, and I passed out from everything.

Quiet Time with the Avatar’s...I don’t know if she’s a girlfriend or a friend:

I woke up again, my undergarment was gone. "Why is it gone?" I asked, screaming. She raised her hands, coated in water, and apologized. "My apologies, Your Majesty. At some point someone stabbed you right above the...so I had to take your undergarments and wrap the torso wound". I apologized for Her Imperial Majesty’s comments, again. This time, she seemed to smile, though this was more of a I’m-not-going-to-hit-you-with-a-water-whip-until-later smile. At least she accepted the apology this time. I asked of her backstory, she explained her childhood, her relationship with the Fire Nation, the finding of the Avatar, and her journeying with him. I stated two things in relation to this. “I think that’s a wonderful story, deserves to be in some kind of play if I’m honest” and “so, where next?” She seemed both annoyed and happy at the thought of someone recounting her story in a play to be seen by the entire known world. As for the second question, she said she didn’t know. She asked if I was okay enough to be asked “a few important questions” and that “I don’t want to ask you anything that could hurt you”, but being Toph’s consort, ‘no’ has never been an option. So I explained that she could ask anything she wished, giving the borders of “nothing” and “everything”. I’m sure she’s shocked by my literalness, but then again, anyone that doesn’t spend time with Toph would be. 

She asked about how the battle went, and I explained whatever I remembered at that exact moment. We got really drunk and concluded that a full-frontal charge would win us the entire war or something. She seemed puzzled, her face one of are-you-that-insane, then her face showed she remembered the time I implied she and a bunch of concubines should go restart the Air Nation. Her mouth was sent agape. "I mean, I know you suffered wounds. Mostly burns. But..." I explained how I might've charged right into ten guys who encircled me. I took let them punch eachother and when they burned me I didn't really pay attention. I told her how the duel lasted a few seconds, which she stated was odd since when the “gang” fought Azula, it took a couple minutes instead. I said that maybe Azula was being lenient with you guys. She gasped, asking “you fought Azula?” and stiffened. I didn’t directly answer that, instead saying “dragonfire, thousands wiped from existence, a bolt of lightning through Long Feng. Azula was simply hunting you.” Color left her face, and she stared at me in silence for a few minutes. 

I asked her for what happened after the battle, she explained that a guard ran across the Palace Grounds, running to get the Earth Queen, and that his earth-wave caused the group to wake from sleep, and when Aang chased after the man using an air scooter, he heard the call for reinforcements at the Outer Wall’s breach. They had seen it when we flew over, days earlier, on their way to the Palace to stop a coup that they heard was in the process of happening while travelling north. They flew for thirty minutes or so before coming upon the breach, and crashed into the ground just as I was finishing my duel. Apparently, Katara had screamed upon seeing me collapse. They flew back north as fast as they could, Katara working the whole time closing up various wounds I had, and trying to work on the eye itself until she realized there was no eye. She worked on my guards as well, and once they had returned to the Palace grounds, Aang jumped off and flew into the palace again, informing guards of what happened. I was delivered to this Imperial Infirmary and she worked on me ever since. After the story ended, I called for my journal and began writing this. She then asked me the important question she wanted to earlier, if the Earth Queen would help launch an invasion of the Fire Nation. I said I’d have to consider it, and continued writing. 

Titles:

I eventually left the bed, having been lying down due to exertion, but Katara insisted I return for more treatments over the next few days. She helped me put on some robes I found, and I left with her following me. I learned that my guards had been healed a day earlier by Katara, as per my last wishes, and had departed for their standard shifts. I walked down the halls once more, returning to the Throne Room. The twins elated to see me, kowtowed, then swung the doors open. There was a massive meeting of the Ministers happening at the time, and all eyes swung to me. People stood, Toph stopped picking her toes, and they kowtowed. They rose, a man yelling out “The One Eyed Badgermole has returned!” People cheered. I walked passed the bowing ministers and walked to the Throne, bowing before Toph, and she jumped off the Throne and punched my shoulder. From the doorway, I saw Katara wince. I gestured for her to leave, and she departed for somewhere. 

The boring meeting on edicts continued. Various ministers asked that their edict be passed. “I want the infrastructure to require a payment” the Transportation minister cried. “I want a force sent to break the Fire Nation blockade of the North” the Minister of Trade shouted. “I want the noble tax to be lowered” a noble out shouted the other two. Toph punched the side of the chair and the ground shook. They all shut up and bowed, asking for mercy. Toph then spoke. “High Priest Li, present the new titles”. Li bowed, before walking up to my throne, bowing, and speaking. “His Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Consort, the One Eyed Badgermole”. He stood, and people repeated it, cheering. “To the Badgermole!”. The cheering was halted by a guard running through the doors, screaming of important news for Her Imperial Majesty. He didn’t even kowtow.

The Siege’s End:

According to him, the Earth Army had finally smashed the rest of the 3rd Army in the Agrarian Zone, ending the entire Fire Nation presence in Ba Sing Se and winning the siege. Toph jumped off her Throne and immediately began walking down the halls. I gave chase, the nobles dismissed as the meeting was cancelled if she left. She called to have the Outer and Inner Courtyard be opened and the citizens told that a speech was about to be held. 

Ten minutes of speed walking later, Toph stood atop the thousand stairs. She was dressed in her regular Imperial Robes. A priest said that the ministers or the priest would usually give a speech, but she pushed him aside. Below us, nobles stood side by side with refugees. Soldiers stood next to bakers, herbalists, handmaidens. Bannermen lined the path. Upon seeing Toph, they all kowtowed. I spotted Katara, Sokka and Aang sitting atop Appa. They also stood and bowed. She then spoke, raising her hands to appear much larger.

“My citizens, noble and peasant, I bring you great news!” The crowd went silent, according to the histories, a monarch never directly gave speeches so this was already a unique enough occurrence. “We have won the siege! We encircled them after raising the Outer and Inner Walls and bit-by-bit smashed them, eventually breaking into the Drill itself. Earth Forces moved east-to-west, surrounding and crushing ten thousand men at a time!” the crowd erupted, cheering, praising the spirits and the Earth Queen. Many different accents screamed “Long Live the Queen”. She then called me over. “Here, with me, the man who made it happen. I present to you, the One Eyed Badgermole, the Imperial Consort!” By the way, <strike>I made all this shit up as I went along</strike> I planned this entire speech out.

The crowd went silent to listen. Toph screamed from behind me “tell them the story already!” _ Thanks Toph _ . “Citizens of the Earth Kingdom, it's true. My men and I charged Fire Nation detachment after detachment, before I reached the Wall itself and had so much whiskey I decided to duel their commander!” Peasants laughed while nobles looked disdained. Toph, having not heard _this version_, broke out into laughter. “I lost my eye during the duel, but hey, Fire Whiskey is so good I didn't notice until a day later. Oh, and we won! I gave a eye and cut off his head! I'd say that's a good trade!” The crowd went back to cheering. Off on Appa, I saw Aang slink back slightly, then looked back to the crowd. “I wish to thank a person, or group, myself. Avatar Aang, his girlfriend and her brother!” The crowd turned to the giant sky bison and Aang sitting atop the saddle railing, waving his hand. Katara probably blushed, maybe she was angry, I don’t know, and Sokka probably was happy to be included in the list. The crowd cheered the Avatar, then I continued.

“The Earth Queen pledges to rout the Fire Nation from our homeland, and from there, we will invade the Fire Nation! We will bring Fire Lord Ozai to his knees!” I punched my fist in the air for the history books state that if you do that you are much more likely to inspire nationalistic fervor and automatically win. “Now, citizens, tonight, go out and party! Today is the end of the beginning, tomorrow, the beginning of the end!” I turned around and reentered the Palace as the cheering subsided. 

I returned to the boring edict meeting, again interrupted by Li, who again came in and again gave me a new title. “The Liberator”. Toph and I personally thanked the Royal Guards who survived, and pledged to make a new medal for the half-dozen men who participated in that charge and survived. I mean, its one hundred percent my fault that most of our men are dead, but hey, we won the siege so I don't get to suffer any consequences. Yay for me.

I write all this from the Imperial Bedroom, as Her Imperial Majesty summoned me here, saying “I have no reason, I’ll explain it to you when you get here”. Now, when I arrived, she chose to be naked picking her toes again, and I chose to grab my writing quill and get to work. She keeps calling for me to enjoy the alone time, and I keep saying I’d rather finished writing what happened. She doesn’t realize I see her blushing this whole time. So now I’m finished, I don’t know what to do. Oh, I know, I’ll go talk to the Avatar.

So that didn't happen. We had a drink-off and it turned into a "who can knock the other one off the bed first" contest. She won because I didn't specify that earth fists weren't allowed.

We have decided to go out to the Jasmine Dragon for dinner, because tea and partying in the streets makes for a good celebration. 

Toph considered inviting the Avatar to this meeting, but in classic Toph fashion she’s likely going to spontaneously order he be summoned. 

So, to end off this entry, Long Live the Queen!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be really short by comparison. The chapters afterwards are much longer, though.
> 
> Comments are also short. Not as short as Her Imperial Majesty but if you tell her that she will probably earth pillar you me and the rest of the neighborhood.


	9. An Earthbending Teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, only two pages on my word document. 
> 
> Learn how this timeline's Aang becomes Toph's earthbending student. Hint: Involves whiskey.

HIM Entry IX:

Written halfway between hammered and hungover. 

Jasmine Dragon time, again:

We dressed up in Imperial Springtime Evening Robes. I love the Imperial Tailors. Identical to the regular uniform only the previously light blue and light green are now dark blue and dark green, making the clothing a dark green with a hint of blue. I had my hair done up in a topknot again, and we put on our capes. 

We took the Imperial Carriage this time, Toph and I wanted to be seen as we arrive. It’s much longer than a normal carriage, large enough to fit a palanquin inside. Enough legroom for three of me or...many Toph’s. Could fit a dozen people. A dozen ostrich horsed Royal Guards preceded us and four after us, all wielding banners. The crowds dancing in the street stopped and kowtowed, as normal, as the carriage arrived. However, Toph opened the window and yelled out “stop bowing and go get hammered!” and the crowd laughed. Then they resumed their activities, though as the procession rode along they’d stop and watch at attention. Toph ordered the coach to stop at the Jasmine Dragon, and called for a Guard to summon the Avatar to meet her here. She opened the door directly in front of the teahouse, a path having already been cleared by the preceding guards. Iroh stood in the middle and bowed, calling out “What an honor to be graced by Your Imperial Majesty again!” Toph jumped out, the crowd around us bowing out of respect, not because they were ordered, and she responded “just Toph.” Iroh nodded, and brought us to our table again. A copy of the larger painting of Toph drinking tea hung beneath the entrance to the kitchen. The Royal Guards already went to their standard positions, but Toph said that “anyone that wants to go party can, but I’ll take Wuhan, Shi and Jie”. The guards followed her orders, albeit they stayed within two buildings of her for safety. Wuhan, Shi and Jie sat down at the table across from us again. Zuko bowed to us, and both stood side by side waiting for Toph to pick. I recalled that the Dai Li used to persecute any mention of the war or Fire Nation -thanks to a rulebook written down seventy years ago according to the archives- but after their ‘reformation’ the topic was freely brought up, so I chose now to suggest an idea I had. “You two heard the speech earlier?” Zuko nodded, and Iroh squinted at me, probably aware of what I was going to say. “I can get either of you the Dragon Throne”. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I am too old to rule a country, just old enough to run a tea shop though!” Iroh said, rubbing his belly. His voice became serious. “Besides, the history books would see it as a brother killing a brother for a throne. However, I cannot speak for my nephew” Zuko seemed to shake, and refused to respond now. “How about if Your Majesty has the Avatar do it? He can bring about peace instead”. I nodded, and just as I was about to speak the Avatar himself arrived.

Jasmine Dragon, the best place for World Leader meetings:

The Avatar jumped off his saddle, Sokka stared down Zuko and Iroh, trying to hold Aang back but he’s Aang. Katara kept jumping in front of the dodgy -literally, because he's so light footed- airbender as if to protect him from a fireblast. However, Toph and I were here so that must’ve been what deescalated the situation. Despite whatever personal annoyance or fear they might have, they lined up next to Aang and bowed deeply to Toph before entering. “Your Majesty!” Aang happily said as he took a long jump and was next to us. “Great speech up there” and he shook my hand. His friends followed. “Your Majesty” and Katara gently bowed again, picking up her kimono-dress to bow properly. Sokka simply went “can the two guys who were chasing us across the world keep their hands five feet from Aang at all times?” Toph and I laughed, but Iroh and Zuko bowed and seemed to respect their wishes. As the shop was empty -the Royal Guards cleared it out beforehand- we could still hold a conversation. “Avatar Aang, you heard our speech earlier?” I asked the cheery airbender. Katara, annoyed, cut in. “Yes, I did. And did I ever tell you I was the Avatar’s girlfriend? Who told you that? You tell me?” I laughed, Aang sighed, and I chose to continue. “The Royal Guards, while on patrol, by accident, tell me they overheard you talking about how you wanted to” I paused, the three of them stared at me, granted Sokka was also switching between me and his sister, “have a future life with Aang”. Katara’s cheeks turned red. As did Aang’s. They both blushed, looked towards each other, realized they were blushing, and sighed nervously. Toph spoke up. “I can feel the racing hearts. Won’t you two just-” I cut her off and said “so. Tea. Who wants some?” And a waitress handed a menu to the three of them. Sokka’s eyes didn’t stop darting at everyone. Me. Toph. Iroh. Zuko. Katara. Aang. Katara again. Aang again. Me again. Zuko for some reason. And it went on. Katara, Sokka and Aang wanted some green tea, I asked for whatever the strongest whiskey he had was, which got a shoulder punch from Toph. She asked for "whatever he's having, just less strong".  


I switched subjects to something serious as we downed our drinks. Boy that whiskey was the good stuff. “So, Aang, want us to help you defeat Ozai?” Aang slunk back into his chair, his eyes distant. Katara cut in, again, and Sokka shot me eye-daggers. “He needs to master earthbending and firebending first”. Toph looked up from her tea and seemed to be using her outside voice for this. “You want to master earthbending? This is the Earth Kingdom, you can easily find a teacher.” Aang, tired, responded. “King Bumi told me to find a teacher who waits and listens…” then he looked up to Toph. Everyone looked at him, then over to Toph. Aang stared into Toph’s grey, lifeless eyes, while she sat back in her chair, sipping her tea. Wuhan of all people spoke up. “Her Imperial Majesty never runs from a fight. We begged her to retreat when you were battering down our door, but she stood there,  _ waiting _ .” Aang looked like he was thinking of something, but Katara jumped to it first. “Why don’t you become Aang’s earthbending teacher, Toph?” She looked at me, expecting an answer from me or something. _Wuhan, I'm going to make you a court eunuch for this_.

I recall thinking the following: _Why does she always look at me? Stop looking into my soul. _The whiskey had already taken full effect by this point: “Sure, Toph. Become the Avatar’s earthbending teacher. Why in the name of the Fog of Lost Souls not?” So Toph looked back at the nervous Aang and responded with the craftiest of smiles. If I sounded drunk, her whiskey made her absolutely hammered.

“Being the Queen is boring, there’s all work and no play, the ministers are bunch of stuck up pricks, and you only have sex for heirs. You can't go get wasted in some low class bar without causing a international scandal. I miss those days. So Madam Fuzzy Britches, I'll take up your boyfriend's offer. Let’s go break some rocks  _ Twinkletoes _ !” And she applauded herself.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is a return to the normal-length chapters (a few thousand words).
> 
> You're comments don't have to be a few-thousand words. I will write double the length in response, though, because if I can write a five page chapter a day I can reply to this.


	10. A Long Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Consort and Aang discover the Day of Black Sun in the Imperial Archives. Toph breaks court rules, introduces a Earth-changing edict, literally, and spars with Aang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The stuff the consort does in the morning; waking early, praying, studying history, is part of the real daily schedule of a Chinese Emperor. Their lives were organized down to the minute. Of course, Toph breaks any possible schedules because she's Toph but the Consort will obey them. Consider this "the rhythm" that the staff have gotten into.

HIM Entry X:

It’s been a week since my last entry. I write this from the comfort of a bathtub, the morning was riddled with “same old” and “world-shattering news”, thus deserving its own entry.

Late Riser:

Her Imperial Majesty doesn’t like being woken up. If anyone other than Ming or her Personal Guard try to wake her, she _ will _ earthbend them out the window. This morning, one attendant came in to try and wake _ me _ for morning prayers, but Toph sent a pillar firing her out the window. I have no idea what happened to that woman, but considering there’s a net beneath the Imperial Bedroom - put in place by yours truly - I trust the attendant probably survived.

Early Morning Rituals:

In reality, the Earth King/Queen is supposed to be awoken at four in the morning for prayers. Now, Ba Sing Se is pretty far north in terms of the world. As a result, springtime here means late sunrises and early sunsets. The Queen’s Personal Attendant arrived after the last attendant went flying, and I got up. Now, for Toph’s sake - because even the Imperial Consort wouldn’t dare wake her - I go over to the room next door, the Imperial Consort’s Bedroom, where Ming -and half a dozen attendants- will help dress me. Toph and I are quite content putting on most of our own clothes, but most of the courtly robes require someone else to help put on. Historically, we would have at least three dozen different options, but Toph passed an edict recently that streamlined this system. She changed the system so now we have sixteen robes each: three robes per season, Morning -brighter- Daytime -standard- and Evening -darker- variants. 

I then departed for the Imperial Shrine. Not much of a surprise to anyone, but Her Imperial Majesty doesn’t believe in or care about spirits. But I figure it’s best to do my penance for both of us. The Avatar popped out of his guest house to join me, my path to the Shrine passes by his house and the sky bison’s growls usually wake him. This happens nearly daily, much to the annoyance of Katara and Sokka, who would usually tell him he doesn’t need to wake up at this time. He bows to me from the entrance to his guest house, then quietly shut the door. We walked down the cobblestone and discussed the Spirit World.

We entered the Shrine, both of us bowing, then we’d take places on a large mat and meditate for a half-hour. _ Of Ruling a Kingdom _, the final work of the 46th Earth King, himself having used the newly formed Dai Li to compile all records available, taught that the monarch should spend an hour thoroughly studying history. His Royal Highness could never have foreseen a time when the Avatar resided on the grounds of the Palace itself, but I put two and two together and have commissioned Aang to withdraw any historical information he can from the Spirit World and write it down, for copying to the Imperial Archives. 

Students of History:

At about five in the morning, Aang and I departed for the Imperial Archives. Last night, he spent hours in deep meditation, communicating with Avatar Roku about the state of the world in the times of Fire Lord Sozin. He wrote down whatever Roku told him, and now we were going to the Archives to submit it for copying and study. The Archives are buried underground, a massive artificial cavern that has never been breached or destroyed in ten thousand years of history. However, scrolls have been individually destroyed, removed and changed as various dynasties rose to prominence and fell to coups. We both immersed in the second titled “Sozin’s Invasion”, dated one hundred twenty years ago, when he had begun building colonies. Aang submitted the accounts of Roku, when he travelled to the colonies and his ‘warning’ to Sozin. 

Aside from this, Aang was personally invested to read up on what happened when he ran away. His friends have mentioned, in passing, how when they first met him he ran away from his responsibilities, but now, he faces his responsibilities head on. That could be a result of training with Toph, who’s bullheadedness won us a sally, after all. 

I was walking through the Kyoshi-era of Fire Nation history’s aisle -as anything outside of the Earth Kingdom and pre-Sozin Fire Nation is dated to the year of the Avatar- when I tripped and fell into one of the shelves. Why was I there? Hei-Ran and Rangi were all I knew of the Fire Nation in that era. Thus I wanted to learn more about it with Kyoshi's life as starting point. Aang helped me up, and we grabbed the scrolls that had fallen off the ground. As we looked through the fallen scrolls, to check for dates, Aang called over to me. “This scroll has a black sun in it!” We took the scroll and brought it to a well lit area, the Archival Study, and looked it over. It was a small remnant of what appeared to be a page from a journal. It read as follows:

_ …nineteenth day of the seventh month, year one hundred and twenty three of Avatar Kyoshi, the middle of summer. Moored outside Caldera. We were trying to light the incense sticks for prayers in the bridge. Can't light them. Looked outside. Captain's knelt on the front deck, hands up in the air, screaming. Sun turned black. Helmsman Miyoshi just vanished? Where's...  
_

The two of us looked at each other, then yelled out at the same time. “Firebenders lose their power in a solar eclipse!” I immediately ran for Ba Sing Se university’s astronomical archives. Now without the Dai Li censorship, their findings could be accessed by the monarchy. A guard ran to ask me if I would have breakfast but I cursed him off and kept running. I yelled for an Ostrich Horse but Aang suggested Appa instead. My guards could barely keep up as we charged across the Courtyard, causing many Royal Guards to run over and see what was happening. Katara and Sokka, too, jumped up in defensive stances. Aang immediately airbent himself up to Appa, grabbed his reigns, and using his earthbending, pillared me on. Wuhan yelled out from the balcony as to what I was doing and where I was going - this commotion definitely woke up Toph - and I explained that I was going to the University and that it’s an emergency. Aang told Katara and Sokka to wait but they tagged along anyways. 

Day of Black Sun:

The red sun was just emerging over the horizon as we came upon the University. Appa landed in the middle of the grounds and Dai Li immediately surrounded the bison. I jumped off, and seeing me, they all kowtowed. I was asked “what His Imperial Majesty needed of the humble dean” and I told him to get me the astrological department _ now _ or -and I made my voice much deeper- I would have him executed for treason and hung from the Outer Wall. He ran off and five minutes of running later, we were in the Astronomy department, the Kim Astrology Tower. The university remained untouched by the Dai Li as, as long as nobody ever brought up the war, it was allowed. And currently, only two living people knew the connection between eclipses and firebending. Thus, only two people knew that the astrology had anything to do with war.

I demanded to know when the next solar eclipse was, and the dean stated that he would have answers by tomorrow. However, with a draw of my jian, he said he had to consult the records. With a slash of my jian, cutting his topknot off, he brought us to the small calendar room. A small dial sat in the middle, supposedly the whole room is based on the blueprints an immortal assassin found while traveling the world a thousand years ago, who then gave them to Kyoshi, who then submitted them to this university where the object was built. According to the dusty blueprints, one would rotate dials and in doing so would be able to predict, down to the minute, the movement of the heavens. We already had the date, Aang copied the date of the incident onto a pocket-sized piece of paper, and so we rotated the dials to that date. Then, he pulled a switch, and the four of us watched in shock as the moon blocked out the sun. We enlightened Sokka and Katara to what we had discovered, and Sokka had the genius idea to try going _ forward _ in time to find the next eclipse. An hour later, Sokka having tried every single date going forward in chronological order, he fell backwards in shock as we found that the next eclipse was surprisingly soon. Three months, two days away. Katara, Sokka, Aang and I stared at each other, then we realized what we should do. 

Morning Edict Time:

We couldn’t open up this suggestion at the time due to no alone time with Toph, so we agreed to meet up later on. We rode Appa back to the Inner Courtyard, I departed, and ran inside, _ I was late to the court meeting _. 

The Throne Room doors burst open. The ministers kowtowed, Toph laughed, and I took my place at the side of the throne. The current discussion was on fashion reform. _ Why not _. Unlike previous monarchs who spent hours trying to pass edicts, Toph could finish a discussion instantly. Also, because they were discussing fashion, she deemed it necessary to remove all her clothes, lie back, and pick her toes. Of course, the ministers were furious, but the two or so of them who said she was “inappropriate” were sent flying out the front door. Ming, meanwhile, laughed at Her Imperial Majesty’s fashion sense, commenting - at her request - “that you stand for exactly what you say you stand for” which earned Toph’s nod of approval. 

Toph ended the two minute long discussion and passed a new edict. After my life was saved by wearing Royal Guard armor -according to some anonymous account, likely one that wasn't actually present as I was shirtless for the duel- all nobles and the monarchy would no longer have purely ceremonial armor. All ceremonial armor would be replaced with Royal Guard armor, albeit nobility would have plumes added and the monarchy would have its Imperial colors. I recall stating that “this was pretty obvious, why didn’t anyone do this before” to which Toph stated that “everyone before me was a moron”, the nobles cried out, but she laughed nonetheless.

Now came the actual important edict. Toph stated that, after “accounts of the Fire Nation’s military prowess,” women would be conscripted to the Earth Army and would receive training for earthbending. Now, this sent the nobles into an uproar. But, as always, they had to kowtow and request permission from me to speak first. “Your Imperial Majesty” they’d cry. “That is such a large decision to make, and there is no evidence that women in the army has actually helped them in victories”. Toph, breaking court rule - but she’s also Toph what did anyone expect - summoned an earth fist from the ground, clenched the man in question, and _ tossed _ him out the Throneroom doors, demanding he be sent to the dungeons “to be dealt with later”. She then asked if anyone else opposed this, to which nobody spoke up, so she had me write down her edict and she stamped it. 

The morning meeting ended quickly, Toph and I walked to have breakfast in a private room. I asked her how she planned on implementing that new edict, and she stated that -long term- she’d bring in instructors from the colonies and that “by the time my successor comes to the throne, I want the Earth Kingdom to have its own version of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls”. I wasn’t going to object, conscripting women meant that, if nothing else, the home guard militias were now going to be adequately trained. If we could get ten women as knowledgeable of history, as strong, as talented, as RFA graduates, we could conquer the world. She and I discussed how such training would be implemented, she laid out a plan - that a nearby scribe wrote down- Today, papers would go out calling for volunteers from any women that can earthbend. They would report to their local barracks for basic training, and by next month, she expects five percent of the Earth Army to be women. Any women who pass the intensive training for a Royal Guard could go on to compete for the dozens of openings currently available. A meritocracy. A later step would be to get the most qualified women to start an equivalent of the Royal Fire Academy. 

Earth versus Air:

After breakfast, Toph ordered that I go find Katara for another healing session while she goes and tracks down “Twinkletoes” to “beat some sense into him”. I, along with Guards, walked across the Palace - I will never get used to all the formal kowtowing - to the thousand steps where I descended. A Guard asked if I was going to Katara, to which I _ winked _ at him -because eye-, he nodded, and ran off to knock on her door. The morning is the best time to walk across the Courtyard, no courtiers speaking, just birds calling and a light wind flapping the various flags across the grounds. I came upon the resting Appa, the door swung open and Katara bowed. I walked inside, a thick smell of incense a reminder of Aang, his meditation, then of the Archives, then of the Black Sun. Walking through the washroom, I encountered Aang shaving his head and Sokka shaving his three chin hairs. 

I walked to a side room where an ornate tub sat. Katara gave me privacy while I undressed from my layered Imperial clothing -much easier to take off than put on- and put on a simple undergarment sash. Ironically, being in their home gave me more privacy than my own bedroom. Of course, there’s a dozen guards and a half dozen Dai Li within a hundred feet of me. But Katara doesn't know that. Getting into the water, I lied back and looked out the window, watching the Inner Courtyard and various courtiers walking about. Katara immediately turned the water light blue while also changing its temperature at whim. This window looked out at the front porch of the guest house, which by extension looked out to the courtyard. Katara's soft hands were memorable. Her healing is one of those feelings that's faintly painful, like scratching a itch, but the pleasure from it makes it more than redeeming. No, archivists, I am not implying anything sexual. Just that the healing touch is very hard to describe.

A horn sounded. The Queen was coming.

Aang ran out the door, his air scooter coming face to face with the ornately dressed Toph who summoned an earth wall to hit him _ right in the face, ouch _. She had already explained to the guards that she was playing with him, it wasn’t practice for her, it was just something to pass time with, and thus they spread out some distance to give the duo space. 

Aang would start his ‘fight’ by trying to come at Toph via air scooter, and while she might be able to hear his exact position, a rock wall followed by a splat usually signified she was successful. Katara would vary between looking out the window wincing as she watched Aang’s multiple face-meets-rock encounters and working on my wounds. At least she can multitask.

I couldn’t hear Toph, but she was probably calling him names that would _ really _ piss of Katara and her family-friendliness. She summoned two rock walls to crush him, then let him up when he did...something, I don’t know. Couldn't see. He already learned to earthbend beforehand, there was a massive argument between Katara and Toph over training styles, but Toph won out _what a surprise_. He learned through Toph’s amazing strategy of “fire boulders at the kid until he stopped one” and eventually, after a whole day of sending boulders his way and _ trapping _ him with earthbending, he eventually stopped a boulder. However, she wasn't able to beat his airbending out of him, which he still uses primarily. Waterbending, thanks to Katara, he used like second nature.

When Toph moved the spar over towards a small fountain, he grabbed Toph’s projectiles with his octopus stance while Katara watched her pupil and smiled. Her Imperial Majesty, despite as good as his octopus stance was, able to easily overpower him with one flick of the wrist. A rock mountain that knocked him off his footing followed by walking through the defensive perimiter. Having fallen aside, now purely on the defensive, he switched to earthbending. While he couldn't launch anything that even poked at Toph, he was starting to get good at countering Toph’s rocks with his stone-breaking blocks of the arm. All the while, I sat back and enjoyed the really great feeling of lukewarm water healing me. The Proposition would have to wait till later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figure that the Dai Li would never crack down on something like the calendar room since it had nothing to do with the war. The Earth Kingdom is much like most monarchies, dating their accounts to the month/year of the reign of the monarch. The Water Tribes and Air Nomads, certainly, dated themselves to the Avatar as he or she was the only unifying character. The Fire Nation, too, until Sozin came around and made himself a cult of personality and made the Avatar the enemy.
> 
> Next chapter will be about the same length as this. Get ready for Toph's reformations!
> 
> You know what I love reading in the morning, other than coffee and jogging? Comments.


	11. Spies and Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toph has fun with her subjects, the Invasion on the Day of Black Sun is planned out, Iroh reveals his secrets after a humble game of Pai Sho, the nobles begin coming after Toph for her edicts.

HIM Entry XI:

Well this past day has been quite long. My last entry covered just the morning, this one covers the afternoon and evening.

Dai Li, please stop randomly appearing, thanks:

Katara and I held an impromptu bet on who would win in the spar that was currently shaking the courtyard itself. I set the rules. If Aang won, she got whatever she wanted, if I won, she’d actually focus on healing me. Yes, they favor Toph, because  _ who in their right mind bets against Toph? _ For some reason I still can’t get my mind around, a Dai Li agent suddenly appeared in the doorway to the bathtub. His stealthy arrival caused Katara to jump backwards and scream “what are you doing here?” while pulling water into a coil. Meanwhile, he had a perfect Pai Sho face and kowtowed to the barely-dressed me. Not exactly appropriate, but then again this is the reign of Earth Queen Toph, the Breaker of Rules, The Naked Queen, so I don’t know what else to expect.

He requested permission to speak to me. Katara darted back and forth between me and the dapper-dressed secret policeman before I gestured with my hand for him to rise. He stated that he had “important news for Her Imperial Majesty” to which I asked “why not go bother her right now?” Then it hit me that I was the Queen’s Speaker, and if anyone wanted to speak to Toph they’d have to go through me. Which meant finding me. Which wasn’t that convenient if I was, I don’t know, trying to take a healing bath. 

I let him continue, and he explained a few pieces of news: there was “a plot to remove Her Imperial Majesty”, “Azula grabbed General Heiji, architect of the Siege, and filled him with lightning before mounting her dragon to fly west” and “the new Imperial Military uniforms will arrive tomorrow”. I laughed off the plot, because  _ who could possibly stand up against Toph _ , his mention of Azula reminded me that I  _ had some important business to do _ and as for the fashion? I thanked him for the news before dismissing him and telling him to go tell Toph. 

_ Note to self: never just sic people on Toph _

I watched the guard vault to Toph, kowtow, and speak to her. I couldn’t read lips but Toph’s face and wildly-flying-about-hands-sending-earth-pillars-in-all-directions showed she probably wasn’t happy to hear at least one of those pieces of news.  _ I bet it was fashion _ .

_ It wasn’t fashion _ .

Proposition Time:

Toph immediately turned towards the guest house in a haunting heel-spin and stared towards the window despite not having eyes. I looked to Katara and gulped before  _ a rock hand popped up out of nowhere, _ grabbed me, smashing the tub into pieces, dragged me out the new hole in the wall and dropped my sash-wearing self onto the hard floor of the courtyard. The guards all kowtowed, because why wouldn’t they. This felt like a daily occurance. Toph smirked while I begged to put on clothes because this was inappropriate. Not a good idea. She took that as a challenge, choosing to disrobe down to her undergarments as well so “we’d be equal”. Thanks Toph. 

I then took that opportunity to call over Aang, who was busy watching this circus show from the safety of an airball. He long-jumped over and the three of us formed a huddle. A loud angry Katara stomping over also joined the huddle. Sokka was off doing something something poetry something something noble girls. I whispered the black sun/firebender news into Toph’s ears before she started laughing maniacally. The three of us backed away cautiously, making sure not to violate court protocol of course, and watched her laugh maniacally for a short duration. “Twinkletoes, Kyoshi, Sugar Queen, why didn’t you tell me earlier!” The three of us looked back and forth at each other, struggling to come up with a good excuse. “You were enacting edicts and-” I started, before Aang tried to finish “we didn’t want to disturb you in public” then Katara just shot both of us down, thanks Katara, “well it’s currently public and didn’t you have alone time with her earlier ‘Your Majesty’” she said the last part in a mocking tone. Toph cancelled the training, and called a War Meeting  _ in the next ten minutes _ . None of us knew where to obtain courtly clothes, and when we asked, Toph said “not to worry, I’m not coming in courtly clothes either” before strudding away, soaked from Aang’s attacks, wearing just two sarasashi bands for underwear and her hair bracelet  _ because she never removes that _ . 

General How was not surprised to see the Imperial Couple arrive in undergarments. When he saw us arrive by foot, he just murmured “okay then” while kowtowing. Toph was offered a towel by an attendant, but she told the attendant to “go restart the Air Nomads”. Aang was the only one appropriately dressed by court rules. As he is the Avatar his regular monk robes are a symbol of his status. Katara is “dressed like a peasant” and Toph and I...are Toph and I. I write this because the ministers were commenting on Katara and Aang’s choice of dress as we passed, and murmuring about us even though by court policy they aren’t allowed to. 

The Council of Three wasn’t even there at the time. Just How. The other two generals were, according to a guard, “doing extremely important activities in the local tavern”. Toph shrugged and began earthbending figures around the map. 

Toph stood where How usually would stand, I to her right, Aang to her left, Katara to his left and How across from us. Aang explained the revolutionary news and Toph came up with a plan. And by came up with, I want the recorders to know she simply screamed out “I want to invade the Fire Nation!”. Aang looked to her and asked “why can’t you draw up the plans”. She turned back to him, pulled down her eyelids and waited for him to  _ get it _ . Sadly plan drawing fell to me, despite only having one eye. I asked Shi to go get Sokka from whatever ‘poetry house’ he was at. 

I thought of taking a page from Azula’s book of war, always make someone else officially make the plans. But Sokka seemed to be a smart guy, and I have literally no idea how military planning works  _ stop giving me that responsibility Toph _ . How stood there, patiently, while Katara and Aang made small talk and Toph crossed her arms. 

Sokka, Meat and Sarcasm Guy:

Sokka strode into the War Room, glanced around at the sight of the four of us, and immediately began laughing. “Since when was this a pool party?”. As usual, a guard - not one of the Three - asked if Her Imperial Majesty wanted the “insolent cur” killed for “disrespecting the Queen” to which Toph gave a simple “no”. 

Toph and I moved to the side to let him take the head of the circular table, then Aang reminded him why he was here, and he explained that “he had already planned a plan that would one hundred percent absolutely annihilate the Fire Nation with utmost efficiency and almost no casualties”. I ‘exchanged’ a ‘glance’ with Toph, then looked over to Katara and Aang stifling laughs. 

Sokka had literally drawn up the plans. They looked as follows:

Step one: take every available Water Tribe ship and assault the Fire Nation by sea because waterbenders.

Step two: have earthbenders come in as the next couple waves, they can help build defenses, shelters and hold any grabbed footholds

Step three: attack the Capital just as the Black Sun passes over

Step four: Win

He held up this vaguely-resembling-the-world drawing with arrows across it, proudly, before shoving it in Toph’s face. She flapped it around and exclaimed that “she was very happy to be offered an invitation” to which he went “but this is a…” then he slapped himself in the face. Everyone else in the room laughed. 

He then formally asked if Toph liked the plan or not, she casually nodded, then asked for the Imperial Seal. I stamped it, then stamped it with my own Seal -thanks Wuhan for being our Seal guy- and now this was the approved plan. Was it thought out? Not really. Did it matter? No? We have the Avatar. 

Four Nations Dinner:

We held another five person private dinner, Iroh was invited to serve tea. When he arrived, he informed us that Zuko rejected the offer as, and I quote, “he was afraid that the young pretty girl would water whip him in the face.” Sadly for our dinner, ministers kept asking the Guards to be let in to ask Her Imperial Majesty a question. And they kept getting rejected. 

While Zuko seemed to be destined to always be hated by Katara and Sokka, Iroh fell somewhere in the “not enemy” category. His tea was always excellent and was his main redeeming quality and while Sokka, Toph and I weren’t fans of his platitudes, Katara and Aang could get into hour long discussions with him over the meanings of what he said. Sokka just considered it all “annoying” and I prefer to eat food at dinner, thank you very much. And what does Toph need them for? She’s the second or third most powerful figure in the entire world depending on if you count Aang when he goes into the Avatar State. 

He had brought in a Pai Sho board as well as his usual tea-serving equipment, and offered to play against any of us. Toph immediately rejected the offer, Sokka was never a fan of “such childish games” and Katara and Aang seemed eager to try it out. But, out of politeness, they let me play first. 

But I never forgot the secrets I learned months ago. 

I put down a White Lotus piece, as did he. . I recalled dialogue I remembered having learned it from that old governor of one of the Colonies, but Iroh’s dialogue was of a much higher caliber. The pieces in my head fell together. The rest of the table stared at us as we set up the pieces. We, over the course of a dozen moves, had made a massive white lotus on the board. Then, we got up and bowed to each other. “Welcome, Member of the White Lotus” he said, his voice now much softer. “Welcome, Grand Master Iroh”. Katara, Sokka and Aang’s jaws dropped. Toph was busy eating a prime piece of meat.

White Lotus:

Aang was the first to speak. “What is the White Lotus?” Iroh gave him the rundown of the group, as he knew much more than I ever could. “We are members from all nations, gathered together for the purpose of higher learning. The Hundred-Year War does not divide the quest for enlightenment”. Sokka, being very perceptive at times - not this moment, though - asked “so does that mean you are on our side?”. Iroh rubbed his belly and stated that “he was on nobody’s side except the Avatar”. 

Thirty minutes of jaw-dropped explanation later, including Iroh explaining that after Lu Ten’s death he became a member while doing some soul-searching. Iroh stated that “he was willing to summon the members” for this planned Invasion. Toph finally looked up from her delicious morsels of meat to actually pipe in. “so how many members are there, give us some names”. 

Iroh sighed, as if he was searching old memories for answers. “Ten thousand, and as for the members, the most well known Masters include His Royal Highness King Bumi of Omashu, Piandao, the man who defeated one hundred Firebenders in one protracted duel with just his jian, Pakku, the last Waterbending master of the North and Jeong Jeong, famous General under Azulon, now known as the Deserter”. Aang and Katara yelled out in excitement at the name recognition. I asked when the members could arrive, and he stated to “give us a month for everyone to be summoned”. 

Aang and his friends now had a new kind of respect for Iroh. They genuinely became friends and I'm sure in their free time Katara, Aang and Sokka will travel to the Jasmine Dragon. He ordered White Lotus couriers to run to the corners of the world itself to summon the members. Dinner was dismissed and we are in the bedroom now. I just finished writing the past afternoon and evening’s events, now I am putting the pen down to go to sleep.

Assassination attempt number one, because there’s probably going to be more:

Some assassin tried to jump in through the window to kill Toph, but she sent an earth pillar that crushed the man against the wall, snapping him in two. Guards ran in to carry out his two halves and then an Imperial Janitor arrived to clean up the mess. Wuhan asked if Toph would like to sleep in a safe room, to which she said “this is the safe room. I’m not dead.”

I asked for Ming to get me whatever the strongest whiskey we had. 

Toph and I are going to drink till we drop. 

Assassination attempt number two, there were more:

The following is written down by the hand of the Queen's Personal Assistant, Ming, as His Imperial Majesty can't write currently due to inebriation:  


Sometime during the night, a lad jumped in through the window, wielding a meteor hammer of all things. I rolled out of bed, pulled my hide-a-jian out, and got into a conversation with the man. “That’s a terrible weapon for killing someone”. His response? “No it isn’t”. My response? “Its barely usable in close quarters, can’t you use something like this?” then I stumbled over the bed and accidentally cut his right arm off. I meant to go for the head but no matter. He then began screaming, really,  _ really,  _ loudly, alerting the Guards who ran in and caved his face in with a boulder. Toph's in a deep sleep. I need more to drink. Off to sleep. Thanks Ming.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Iroh secretly supports the White Lotus. The White Lotus serve the Avatar. As a result, prepare for some White Lotus assistance in the Invasion. 
> 
> Also, lots of people hate Toph but that doesn't really matter. She's Toph. Don't mess with Her Imperial Majesty.
> 
> You know what's almost as cool as a foiled assassination attempt? A comment.


	12. Toph’s Grand Reformations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of governmental actions and reforms, armies on the march and terrible assassins being terrible at their jobs. 
> 
> Also, The Consort recounts Azula's attack.

This entry is written down half a month after the previous one. 

Too Many to Count:

I’m getting very, _ very _ tired of all the assassination attempts. It’s become practically customary that sometime during the night at least two different assassins will jump in the window and proceed to get booted back _ out _ the window. Wuhan begs her to move bedrooms and leave a double here, but Toph, the perfect plucky earthbender she is, stands her ground. Surprisingly, my hide-a-jian next to my bed has come in handy. 

I was once taking a shower around midnight _ none of your business as to what Her Imperial Majesty and I are up to though I’ll spoil it for you you perverted archivist: it's coming up with new crown laws _ , and some lad jumped in through the window, twin sais in hand. I was walking out of the shower at the time, naked as Toph, the Royal Guards and _ even _Katara have all seen me naked, upon seeing the man clad in black I lowered my hands like I was surrendering but instead I drew out the sword and sliced his right hand off. The Dai Li grabbed that man and carried him off to the dungeons. Most of the time, Toph is awoken by the man jumping in the window, and she, half-asleep, caves his head in, or buries him in earth, or shoots him out the window with a pillar - the splat signifying she’s succeeded - and then goes back to sleep. Alcohol helps. A lot. 

The Government of the Earth Kingdom:

I write all this from right before lunchtime. The following paragraphs are a compilation of my Archival studies in the early morning plus reports from my spies all compiled together. Turns out, there’s a couple primary Ministers, rulers of Ministries, then the rulers of the thirty-odd semi-autonomous provinces of the Earth Kingdom. Now, a dozen are fully occupied by the Colonies thus the positions are purely ceremonial unless we actually win the war. Another dozen are battleground provinces, the Queen and the Army having more control over the province than the governor. That left about a dozen provinces, mostly the Northeast and Southeast, free of war. Centuries ago, there were A dozen Ministries but most of them became ceremonial or redundant. At the beginning of war, the Grand Secretariat simply executed the redundant Ministers in a stopgap attempt to streamline the chaos. And yet, the Secretariats eventually became focused inwards, only caring about the capital itself, leaving dozens of people to rise and claim they had some sort of power. Wartime opened up many vacuums that, only with Toph’s ascension, are they called into question. In her own words, “Who appointed you Minister of the Household Guard? That’s not a position that has existed for three centuries. Out with you!” 

The Ministers and Ministries were as follows.

The Minister of Examinations and the Ministry of Civil Examinations

The Minister of Taxes and the Ministry of Finance

The Minister of Coronations and the Ministry of Religion

The Council of Five and the Army

The Minister of Punishments and the Ministry of Law, defunct due to the Grand Secretariat, now reformed from the highest ranked Dai Li members

The Minister of Transportation as he is most known, officially the Minister of Public Works, and the Ministry of Works.

In case this wasn’t confusing enough, the provinces themselves were semi-autonomous. They were somewhere between suzerain and actual province. Some regions bore more autonomy than others. I grew up on Kyoshi Island, which de jure is part of the Earth Kingdom but no monarch or inspector ever showed up. In addition, we never bore the Earth Kingdom flag, and were able to declare neutrality. There’s the Mad King of Omashu, who turned the ancient city into its own city-state and the Monarchy didn’t oppose it due to never even knowing it existed. Furthermore, most provinces barely considered themselves members of the Earth Kingdom, the only unifying factors being all forces going to the Earth Army and a suzerain level tax - very low - towards the King. 

Provinces at the far ends of the Kingdom were plagued by piracy and daofei. The Northwestern lands, deemed “the forbidden taiga” by many officers, were full of barbarian groups that would occasionally sail north to raid the Water Tribes. Not to mention the Fire Nation. Many of these governors turned their local regions into near-autonomous states. They became power hungry rulers with hereditary succession. The King never heard a word from them. Thus, it comes as no surprise when Toph came to power, stripping off her clothes, showing that the Monarchy was no longer a puppet. She didn’t do this act deliberately, she’s just Toph, but it sent shockwaves across the Kingdom. Then, when she announced her plan on copying the Fire Nation and conscripting women, many of these far-distant governors-in-name-only were scared that the Lady of Gaoling was flexing her muscles. She didn’t know this when she made her edict, but reports from spies across the Kingdom, Dai Li agents who simply changed clothing, suggested that these lords were not going to simply kowtow. If they were living the good life in some fargone province for the past century, they weren’t going to give up the luxury so quickly. 

Azula was an excellent warrior, a perfect tactician, but she was also easily fixated on perfection. To the best of my knowledge, she sat atop the Inner Wall and her mind fixated on one thing. The Palace. Slaughter. It was the early morning. She arrived and slaughtered, sure, but she didn’t actually finish the job. She didn’t kill the Earth King. She simply forced him to resign, assuming that meant surrender. Kuei knew nothing of war. She killed the one person who could’ve actually brought about surrender, Long Feng, because he was competition to her. She flew off as quickly as she arrived, off to chase the Avatar -I assume- and leave the Siege’s responsibility to the commanders. That way, if they failed, they would be punished not her. Besides, the Avatar was much more of a threat in the long term than a weakened Kingdom. 

There were formerly hundreds of nobles, almost all residing in Ba Sing Se due to an ancient rule that the wives and any siblings or relatives of the governor except the heirs live in the Upper Ring and attend every single event the Monarch hosts. The King was hosting a Springtime festival that eventful day, hundreds in attendance. A little more than a dozen nobility survived -along with all the ministers and the three generals- because they were going to arrive at around noontime due to street traffic or waking up late. Had Azula arrived at noon instead of the morning, the entire government, all the generals, officers, nobles and ministers would’ve been dead. Instead, she killed off ninety-something percent of the government in Ba Sing Se, and a majority of the entire Earth Kingdom’s government. But she missed the Ministers and Generals. The people that ruled over the rest.

The surviving nobles, especially the governors, looked to Ba Sing Se with anger. But it was Toph’s actions, ‘flexing her muscles’, according to the spies, that sparked conflict. People have various reasons to be against the edict, but the concept of the Queen suddenly controlling them after a century of being autonomous was the final straw. 

Progress:

Toph went to the regularly held noontime meeting of Edicts and Crown Law. The two dozen figures parted and kowtowed, as usual. She sat down on the Badgermole Throne and the two-hours of Edict drawing began. Previous Kings depended on their board of advisors or the hundreds of nobles to give information. Toph wasn’t into advisors. The only Earth Kingdom people she spoke to on a daily basis were Ming, her Personal Bannermen and me. Ming acted as a source of information on Ba Sing Se. Her guards were pretty perceptive, almost clairvoyant, individuals. And I had the eyes required to run the Dai Li and write papers. With control over the Dai Li, I could obtain information on _ anyone _ at any time. Granted the farther they were the more time it took. Thus why it took a month for information to return from the provinces. 

Her first order of business was asking how the female soldiers program was going. How presented the statistics. Something like ten thousand women volunteered in Ba Sing Se alone. Most of them were almost finished with their basic training. We will find out how the rest of the Kingdom is going in a month. The first batch of recruits should be done in a few weeks. A dozen officer cadets are predicted, all of whom are Colonials who are also earthbenders. Toph smiled at hearing this news. 

She then asked how the provinces were doing. I already summarized the situation earlier in this entry, so it’d be a waste to repeat everything. I got off my Throne and bowed in front of Toph before explaining the news. _ “The governors of the provinces surrounding Chameleon Bay have sworn ‘eternal loyalty’ for the monarchy. A coalition in opposition to Her Imperial Majesty’s edict has formed, its northern boundary being the Si Wong Desert, and including all the provinces south except Omashu and Kyoshi Island. The Si Wong Protectorates threaten open rebellion. His Royal Highness the Mad King sent a very long scroll with one word on it. ‘Nothing’. Kyoshi Island, meanwhile, congratulates Her Imperial Majesty for ‘choosing the path of Kyoshi.’” _ Toph was furious at the governors, but chose to wait until later to voice her anger.

She then asked about the call to arms. Over the past few weeks, the news of a planned invasion has circulated to the far corners of the Kingdom. Nobody knows why so soon, as the Black Sun is a secret. Anyone with a standing army was asked to send troops. Posters with my one-eyed face were put up across the Kingdom. I was standing, legs together, with my hand on my jian’s hilt, pointing at the reader. My missing eye was covered with an eyepatch. I was dressed in my Springtime Imperial outfit. Beneath me, the words “When Her Imperial Majesty needed him, he gave his eye. Where were you?” It was in black and white. I don’t recall dressing up for this image but the poster was small enough that a printing press could copy it easily. 

General How walked up to me, still kowtowing, and handed me a scroll. Opening it, I read the following. _ “Every single province except the coalition and the Protectorate has responded to Her Imperial Majesty’s call. Three hundred thousand, total, are expected to arrive by next month. Four months provisions are expected to come, via supply trains, to the capital. The Southern Water Tribe’s entire Navy, whatever that entails, according to His Highness Chief Hakoda, is currently holding West Lake, awaiting further orders. Water Tribe troops are expected to arrive via ship in the next few weeks. The Kyoshi Warriors answered the call, stating that they would take the next boat over from Full Moon Bay” _Toph pushed off her Throne, landing in front of me, and laughed. No shocked “what?”s. No screaming. Just a fourteen year old blind girl looming over me, laughing. She did have something to say. Definitely something for the history books. 

“Well that should be enough to kick their asses!” 

Toph returned to her Throne, sat back, and decided to come up with edicts. She officially declared total control over the Earth Kingdom Army, removing any vestiges of power from the Council of Three, and named me Acting Head of the Dai Li. She lifted the old rule on all nobles’ relatives having to live in the capital, sending “anyone that wanted to” back to their home provinces. This was done, I assume, to try and wrestle loyalty from another couple provinces. She also declared “The Si Wong Protectorate an enemy of the Earth Kingdom” and threatened to “personally go there and kick all their asses”. A courtier wrote this threat down, to be sent by hawk, to the Protectorate. The Provinces were now expected to have a standardized level of public works. The Kyoshi Warriors will be requested to help start the Imperial Earth Academy for Girls in Ba Sing Se. In exchange, they would be given free residence and Kyoshi Island officially named an autonomous vassal of the Monarchy. For the first time in a century, she stated that she would conduct a personal tour of the provinces, starting with the nearer ones. Finally, she stated that “Once the armies are here, we will sail for the Fire Nation”. The nobles applauded her lift on the restriction, seeming to ignore the rest of the comments. Putting the quill down as I am expected at a private Imperial Dinner. 

I have received word that the last of the nobles that formerly had to reside in Ba Sing Se just left for their homes. Each one applauded Her Imperial Majesty as he left, as much gold he could carry. I am off to meet with the Avatar. It’s still the early evening.

Toph and I sent word ahead of us to Aang, who met us out in the courtyard in the dark. He brought Katara and Sokka with him. Toph stopped Katara before she could bow properly, stating that “formalities are boring, lets go get some tea” and strutting off towards the Gate. Katara was probably going to ask if she should get dressed formally first, at least I would guess so judging by her holding a finger up -Sokka and Aang have no clue what court dress is- but Toph never gave her the time of day, er, night. No ministers were around to offer a carriage. Toph earth waved towards the gate, guards in tow, and the rest of us chased after her. With a loud bang behind us, we were in the Upper Ring. 

After the Siege ended, most of the refugees marched back to the Lower Ring. As a result, the streets were much quieter. Very few food stands. Most of the citizens were preoccupied with attending different cultural events. Poetry, plays, art expos, Pai Sho competitions and getting a mud bath. Katara ran ahead of us, claiming to smell seal jerky. In doing so, she encountered a bunch of teenage noblewomen who, at least from what I can gather, condoned her for dressing like a peasant. Before she could kill the three of them, Toph coughed and alerted them to her presence. They started begging for mercy and kowtowed. Toph chose that moment to pull off her clothes and go “well if she’s a peasant, I’m from a brothel!” and started dancing around, wearing just undergarments. The three ladies seemed ready to retch, and just before they could, Toph stomped the ground and sent them flying into the nearby river. Katara broke out laughing. I helped Toph put on her clothes again, and we continued walking until we found our target, the Jasmine Dragon.

Jasmine Dragon Tea Time, Third Time:

It was always illuminated quite well from natural fire light. No wonder, considering who ran it. Tonight, the tea house was full of patrons. Iroh’s reputation with the citizens of Ba Sing Se skyrocketed after being invited to serve tea to the Queen. As a result, his business boomed. Iroh called out to us from the center of the shop. The rest of the patrons turned, jaws dropped, and they stood to then kowtow. Toph gave her courtly-as-usual entrance of “can’t you people with eyes please stop staring at me and go back to whatever you were doing? If you want to stare at me, tell me so I can find another excuse to remove all my clothes again”. The patrons didn’t listen, instead wishing Her Imperial Majesty well. They also all noticed the guy with a green eyepatch, the eye part had an Earth Kingdom coin on it, looming over her; me and applauded that “I was alive and well”. In response, Toph asked them if they were expecting me to arrive “dead and unwell?” to which only Iroh laughed. 

We were brought upstairs to a balcony, set up with a table beforehand. Toph sat on the left, I to her right, Katara to my right, Aang at the head of the table and Sokka across from Katara. Iroh brought out menus, Toph took hers and didn’t bother making a blind joke, instead passing it to me. Due to the not-so-great lightning, I passed my menu to Katara, who looked puzzled as to why she held three menus. Upon looking at me, I put my hand on Toph’s face, covering her eyes, and then my missing eye. She winced. Toph knew that was my hand, having gotten quite familiar with my hands previously, and thus didn’t projectile me off the balcony for touching her. And in case anyone was wondering, yes, her skin is very soft once you get under that protective layer of dirt. We ordered various teas and drank up. A few minutes afterwards, some assassin man jumped down from the roof onto the balcony. 

The man missed his surprise attack with nunchucks? Really? Where did he buy these? "Ninja Land"? Sokka tossed his boomerang first as Toph’s senses weren’t that good on wood, but his boomerang flew off somewhere. I blocked his nunchuck strike with my jian as he tried to clobber Toph. She let herself slide under the table to evade the strike. The metal on metal action caused a loud reverberating ping sound to echo off the street. Out of nowhere, a thin water whip caught the man off guard, sending him backwards towards the railing. I knocked him to the ground with a sweeping kick - I don’t want to kill anyone in front of the Avatar and his innocence, afterall-, then looked up just in time to get bonked by Sokka’s boomerang. I looked up at a suddenly pale Sokka and a really-worried-expression Katara and started laughing. “Good thing that wasn’t the sharp end”. Katara froze him to the railing and I picked up the boomerang and handed it to Sokka, who thankfully grabbed it and put it back in its sheath. Toph asked if “we could beat him up” but Aang was all Air Nomad-y, going “no, that’s not the right thing to do, even criminals deserve fair trial”. Katara seemed on the fence, meanwhile, and Sokka was busy cracking his knuckles, then glanced to his friends and sighed, “why do I have to join the nice guy?” Toph, having emerged from the table, punched him in the shoulder and said “well we always have an opening on the Royal Guards” to which he asked the requirements with genuine interest, much to the dismay of Katara. Toph told him that one had to be an expert bender, then he sighed again and slumped his shoulders. 

Toph told Aang the man would get a ‘fair trial’, which caused him to smile, we thanked Iroh for the tea, the Royal Guards chained the assassin up, and we walked back to the Palace. Sokka left the group to go find the poetry house again, despite Katara trying to grab him and keep him here since “its disrespectful to run away from the Queen”. Toph, meanwhile, was laughing, saying she’d probably do the same in his position except “poetry is girly” which just caused Sokka to stare at her for another minute, mumble, then turn and run off. The rest of us departed for the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's references to various dynasties in China.  
Kuei's reign and thus the current state of the Earth Kingdom is based on Manchu China, with some changes due to creative liberty. 
> 
> Azula's attack isn't some kind of counter to what Dany did. Two different characters. Azula was legitimately insane and obsessed with annihilating her opponents a decade before Dany snapped and went out of character.  



	13. Piandao

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Consort meets Piandao and we get a quick summary of some morningtime training. Everything changes when Sokka bursts in and gets trained instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not one to write action training montages and this should be evident of that. The Consort trains a bunch, then Sokka trains a bunch.

HIM Entry XIII:

This entry is written down a half month after the last one. The following is a summary of the morning.

A Completely Standard Morning:

Was awoken by Ming at the same really early it's-not-even-dawn time this morning. Toph pushed me out of bed with the excuse of “I don’t have to wake up for another two hours”. Proceeded to fall out of bed. Went over to my bedroom, undressed, redressed, then the six attendants came in and put on my Springtime uniform. Strolled down to the Imperial Shrine, accidentally awoke the Avatar, he joined me. Did my penance in the Shrine, then spent two hours in the Archives. Officially I was there to learn more about history. Unofficially I wanted news from the spies. 

Apparently the sandbenders have raised the banner of independence and are marching to “liberate” Omashu from the Fire Nation. The Mad King was last spotted in a metal casket, laughing, inside Omashu. The Imperial Host is currently crossing the Serpent’s Pass, led by General Fong, General of the Masses and Protector of the South. The Water Tribes have successfully held the western coast, Hakoda is expected to arrive at the Imperial Palace this afternoon to meet the Earth Queen and pay his respects. The Water Tribe forces are expected to follow him. I ordered the Dai Li to open the gates for them. The people were happy to see them as they’ve all heard of Aang’s achievements and thus the Water Tribes were secured in being allies.

I did spend a few minutes looking over the Archives, reading up on the geography of the Fire Nation. Aang, meanwhile, was preoccupied reading earthbending scrolls. Dozens of maps were copied, to be given to the new coordinators of the Invasion, the Dragon of the West and Sokka. Sokka was chosen for his loyalty to the alliance and potential, while Iroh chosen for his military genius. Zuko, meanwhile, was deemed “a wildcard” by Sokka. I left the Archives to walk over to the morning Imperial Meeting.

Don’t Mess with Piandao:

On my way to this meeting, a man dressed in Fire Nation robes pulled me aside -or rather, called me aside- in one of the Palace hallways. He bowed, drew out his jian and scabbard, and introduced himself as Piandao. Go figure, my massive ornate robes make me obvious to anyone trying to find me. He tossed me a White Lotus tile to which I nodded, as that is my default for “why am I being given this”. Then it hit me. He’s from the White Lotus. I halted my Royal Guards from jumping to some  _ earth splitting _ conclusions and told them he was a friend.

He asked if I’d like to duel, which I was more than happy to accept. Nobody would miss me at the Imperial Meeting. We walked down the thousand steps and took our places in the middle of the courtyard. Royal Guards left us mostly alone. Katara and Sokka exited their guest house, but instead of peace and quiet they were in the middle of a large dueling circle. On one end, back to the Imperial Palace, “The One Eyed Badgermole”. On the other side, back to the Outer Courtyard, “The One Man Army”. According to the mediator, some Royal Guard, we would duel until one of us yields. We took our positions, wished each other luck, and the duel began. 

No duel lasts more than ten seconds. This was no exception. Both of us ran forwards, jians in hand. I stabbed at his chest, Piandao sidestepped me, parried it -but not disarming me, I ain't that weak-, and knocked me down with his sword hilt. 

I yielded, seeing an opponent much much better than me. He helped me up, I dusted myself off, but before he could speak, the earth itself started rumbling. I gulped, looked at Piandao, and...well my gut knew I guess, told him a warning. “That’s probably Her Imperial Majesty”. Sure enough, from far above us, horns sounded, the tiny earthbender had just arrived. The entire crowd kowtowed, but she took no time in  _ grabbing me with an earthen fist _ and screaming “where were you?” I tried to outshout her, saying “I was dueling a master swordsman”. Piandao tipped his head, and the fist opened and dropped me back on the ground. “That’s a good reason, the meeting was boring so I left to go see if you were around to go bother”. I dusted myself off, again. “Piandao, meet Her Imperial Majesty. Toph, meet Piandao”. Piandao brought his hands up to bow, Toph shrugged, probably confused/not really interested in some random individual standing in her Courtyard. 

We trained in the Inner Courtyard. Apparently, I was already pretty good with a blade. We practiced combat against multiple opponents, with the Royal Guard - fully armored - acting as sparring partners. We spent hours practicing and practicing katas. Strike strike parry. Strike block strike. Strike strike strike. Different angles. Eventually I was good enough to not have my ass handed to me in two strikes. We stopped for a short while to tend to the rock garden next to the guest house. Katara was practicing her waterbending forms.

At some point, the sun was suddenly in the middle of the sky and Sokka was trying to interrupt one of our sessions. I say interrupt, in reality he ran  _ between the two of us _ as we were sparring and almost had his hair cut off. Good thing Katara was around to curse him out for us. He was begging Piandao to also train him, and I took that opportunity to take a break. I went and sat down on the front porch of the Avatar’s guest house and watched Sokka get sent flying backwards. Again. And again. And again. But he never gave up. He kept lunging at Piandao, kiting around him, seemingly never out of energy. Piandao took a quick break to suggest I try calligraphy, but I proceed to take inspiration from Toph and wave my hand in front of my right eye, causing him to wince. I had lunch on the porch, Katara joined me. Every time Sokka would get sent flying, she’d giggle. Upon realizing she was laughing at this, I wasn’t going to stifle my laughter either. But once I began laughing, she tried her best at being serious and went “you can’t laugh at my brother just because he’s…” then she continued laughing. Turns out sharing seal jerky, not tea, with a friend made for good times. Toph had a meeting with How to attend to and for once didn’t pull me along like some kind of Imperial eye-person. 

Katara was annoyed at all the dust I was getting into her hair. I can’t exactly help it, Toph ordered I maintain a “protective layer of earth” at all times I’m not showering.  _ And yes Katara, I can read your questioning glances, even when she’s lying down to sleep she’s coated in dirt.  _ Katara, annoyed that I was getting dust in her hair, was complaining that her hair was now dirty. My response? “You. Are. A. Waterbender. Go wet yourself!” and I tossed my really-delicious-tasting seal jerky aside. And she looked out to the fountain, drew water, and splashed us both. Piandao watched the whole thing while dodging Sokka’s really loud surprise attacks. He didn't have to look at Sokka to dodge his screaming assaults. He simply stepped to the side and watched Sokka slip on the wet floor.  _ Good thing I didn’t have any extremely valuable one-copy-in-existence papers on me _ . So now we were both sitting there, soaked. Good thing for us, Aang arrived, stopping off from his meditation, and with a vortex summoned from his staff, he airbent us dry. It make Katara's hair look like it was struck by lightning. We looked at each other, pause, then laughed. “At least you don’t have Toph hair, Katara” I said, barely able to speak from the hilarious sight. She looked down at herself in a watery mirror she fashioned, and with a shocked voice asked what Toph’s hair was like. I attempted to describe it. I know the recorders have likely never seen it, but in the morning when Toph wakes up, she has to do in a lot of hair. A lot. I explained the analogy using Appa. “He sheds, so imagine if all his shedding was gathered up onto one person and it looked like a spiky boarcupine”. I don’t know if she got the analogy or not. She spent a minute thinking to herself then looked at me in shock. “How does-” I raised a finger to cut her off, explaining that she’s able to do all the hair into a tight ball. The protective layer of dirt means she can, to the best of my knowledge, earthbend her own hair. I also clarified that I have no idea about the details despite sleeping next to her. 

Horns sounded, Toph arrived at the top of the stairs just as Aang disappeared off into a side area of the Inner Courtyard to practice earthbending. She gave a short speech about wanting to see a demonstration, and I broke out into laughter. A few seconds later, the guards did. Piandao, Sokka and Katara looked around wondering why, then Toph waved her hand in front of her face, heel-turned, and went back inside. I could clearly hear Sokka’s grumbling from where I was sitting. He was still grumbling when Piandao ran at him. Katara got up, stating that she didn’t want to miss out on the fun. She called out to Piandao and asked if she could join in. He looked her over, the nodded. She and Sokka would team up against him for a spar. 

So I am currently writing this entry right now. Sokka and Katara tried to attack him. Katara launched ice spikes at him and he simply  _ cut them in half _ with quick strikes. She tried to hit him with a water wave but he jumped out of the way. Sokka went on the defensive to protect his sister but after one successful block got disarmed with a leg trip/sidestep. Katara went into an octopus stance, the tips turning to ice. He slashed at each one as they came, Katara having a pattern to her strikes that could be timed, and walked into her defensive zone and pushed her down. Both of them got up to bow to him, then Sokka went off to return his sword and Katara went to dry off. 

A figure just came in through the Inner Gates. Clad in navy blue armor, three moons painted on the front. Wearing a dark blue helmet, shaped like a wolf, with painted on white eyes. Haunting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, the Southern Water Tribe shows its proficiency in formations!
> 
> Comment? Don't comment? Your choice.  
Thanks for reading anyways!


	14. Wolf Helmets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hakoda and his men are battle-hardened. They've fought for years, nonstop. Expert sailors and soldiers. A perfect fighting machine.
> 
> Also Kyoshi Island is Finland with Japanese influences. That's my canon now.

HIM Entry XIV:

Written after dinnertime.

An attendant has called out: “Introducing His Highness, Chief Hakoda”. 

His Highness, Chief Hakoda, Admiral of the Southern Navy:

“Your Imperial Majesty, it is an honor” he stated with a voice hardened by years at sea. He then bowed. “Your Highness, Chief Hakoda, I am equally honored” and I bowed. I turned to a guard and requested Her Imperial Majesty be summoned as Hakoda has arrived. The guard ran off. I was asking him how his journey was going when Katara gasped from far behind us. Hakoda looked off behind me, to my right, and ran off to hug her. I gave them their moment. Sokka emerged a minute later and ran over to Hakoda. I stepped back, giving them their space and gesturing for the guards to do the same. I wasn’t about to interrupt a family reunion. Far above us, the horns sounded as Toph arrived, again. Hakoda pulled out of the hug to bow but Katara whispered something in his ear and they continued hugging. The rest of us kowtowed. As Toph descended the stairs, Hakoda pulled out of the hug this time and didn’t go back in. The Queen was coming to speak to _ him _. 

“Your Imperial Majesty, ever as beautiful as the springtime bloom” Hakoda said, getting on one knee. _ At least I can tell where Sokka got his poetry from. _ Toph blushed, genuine compliments were rarely given to her. Toph’s counter was much less formal, much more Toph.“Chief, does this mean I refer to your kids as Prince and Princess?” Katara and Sokka laughed, still not over the shock of seeing their dad in the flesh. “Your Imperial Majesty-” he began, but Toph cut him off, “I’m simply Toph.” He stepped back, seemingly confused, then, using her name, stated that she didn’t need to call Katara and Sokka any differently. She laughed, telling him that she wasn’t going to anyways. Despite this comfort level, Hakoda still referred to her as Her Imperial Majesty, and being one to respect respect, Toph referred to him as Chief. 

Avatar Aang’s arrival from practicing earthbending with the Royal Guards just added another international entity to the mix. He airballed over to the circle formed by Hakoda, Toph, Katara and Sokka. Piandao and I stayed back, watching as our hands were in our robes. Toph told her guards to give her space. I didn’t hear what most of the discussion was on, I assume it was mostly reunion-y. At some point Toph backed up and asked the three of them if they wanted to have lunch at the Jasmine Dragon. Hakoda seemed confused, asking if that was some kind of reference to the Imperial Dining Room, then Toph corrected him with something even more confusing: “it's just the tea house run by the former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and home to the current Banished Crown Prince of the Fire Nation”. 

I decided that a fellow head of state deserves something more than “let's walk down the street” so I summoned the Imperial Carriage. Just as Toph finished her proposition, a dozen riders showed up bearing banners, leading the way for the gilded carriage which stopped in front of Toph. She turned around to ask what the coach was doing here, I assume, because she then heel-turned and faced me. Piandao took that as a sign to politely back away from the possibly steaming blind girl and backed off towards the nearest wooden object, the house. 

Instead, though, she grinned and got in the carriage, gesturing for Hakoda to join her. Katara and Sokka got in afterwards. Aang got on an airball and disappeared, likely going to meet us there. I took my jian and trudged inside. I sat next to Toph, the other three sat across from us. He commented on the amount of beauty, the colors, to which Toph remarked that she doesn’t really notice the colors that much. He asked if she was being metaphorical, then I waved a hand in front of her eyes and he gasped for air. Toph’s maniacal laughter didn’t make the situation better, but Katara reassured him while Sokka mumbled how he still fell for her blind jokes to which Toph said “so you never see the joke?” He gave a genuine answer, before going “why do you always do this to me?” She simply grinned.

It was a short ride to the Jasmine Dragon. Very few people in the streets, however. Many fell to Azula, many more rode back to their home provinces after Toph revoked the centralization edict. Now, it was just government officials of Ba Sing Se, the various ministries and the high command of the army left. A few dozen nobles might be scattered across the practically-a-ghost-town of the Upper Ring. Despite this, the Jasmine Dragon was still full of patrons. The lead rider blew his horn as they neared the tea house. The carriage arrived, the door opened and the patrons were standing at attention. I exited first to stand next to the door. Toph second. The crowd bowed. Then Hakoda and his kids. Iroh bowed back to us. Hakoda walked up to and seemed to tower over the short aged general. I walked up next to Hakoda and told him to save the greetings for upstairs, for privacy’s sake. 

Iroh led us to the same balcony we were at the other day. Toph sat at the head of the table. I to her right. Across from Toph sat Avatar Aang at the other head of the table. Hakoda sat to his right, Katara to his left, Sokka between me and Katara. I kept my jian behind my chair, much to the concern of Hakoda. He asked why I needed it, to which Sokka correctly pointed out that “Her Imperial...Toph keeps attracting men in black outfits to attack her”. Hakoda thought this was a joke and laughed at the thought. He looked around the table, the rest of us’ serious faces, sans Toph, stopped his laughter. Toph, meanwhile, joined in with laughing. “Right? They keep attacking one at a time and keep failing”. At least Hakoda’s inability to ever understand Toph shows he’s definitely Sokka’s father. 

Iroh came back with the tea, poured it for us, and Hakoda had many questions for him. Most of them were reassured by Katara and/or Sokka. Like “why isn’t he killing us” and “why he is friends with the Earth Queen”. The extremely complicated White Lotus explanation was too...complicated to say. So Katara summarized it as being some secret Avatar fanclub. Which seemed enough for him. As he put it when meeting me, Toph and Iroh, “any friend of my kids’ is a friend of mine”. He also asked Aang many questions. Aang was shy about answering questions on waterbending, but with a glance to Katara, she explained that she was both his teacher and also that he was a master at it. He then asked who was teaching him earthbending, and the whole table looked at Toph who was busy picking her teeth clean with her fingers. Toph allowed the moment of wincing to pass before grinning. “She’s your earthbending teacher? The Earth Queen?” Toph continued grinning. Aang looked back at Hakoda and tried his best to give a review of her. “She’s like a human rock. Nothing breaks her and she can see with her feet.” Toph finished grinning, asking how much “His Imperial Majesty paid you to say that, Twinkletoes?” 

Exposition time for the recorders!:

Then Hakoda looked to me and asked who I was. Confused, I told him I was simply the Imperial Consort. He repeated the question. Toph decided to cut me off to explain who I was instead. She told the four of them to relax back and get ready for a long story. She stated that I was a Kyoshi Islander who accidentally married her, that's all true. We didn’t actually drink our way northwards, we just boarded a caravan and rode to Ba Sing Se. At every tavern we stopped off at, we drank up. Toph made for one badgermole of a barfighter. As for the meeting with Kuei? That’s true. She used her passport to get us in. The rest of the story is history, as she put it. They all reacted pretty accepting. Except Sokka, who was surprised because “it wasn’t that long”. Also, Sokka said something very wise: in a world where there’s dragons and badgermoles, an individual with the power to make brand new islands and people able to practice water magic - Katara shot him a “I _ will _ end you” glance - a guy and a girl drinking their way to the throne isn’t _ that _ insane. I agree with him. I also clarified that Kyoshi Islanders are very resilient to the cold and get absolutely hammered during wintertime. I mentioned that I would go throat singing in a small frozen inlet all the teens used to hang out at. My cousins, the girls who became Kyoshi Warriors, would sit on the beach and laugh as this was entertainment for them. Likewise, Captain of the Warriors, Suki, would dare everyone else to go skinny dipping and she'd strip naked and lead by example. I also tried to clarify that we had nothing to do during the winters so when we weren't practicing or sitting around a fire in the Village Head's house, we'd do this kind of stuff. _Its this stuff that makes us Islanders unique. I don't care if someone from Ba Sing Se thinks its crazy_.

The Arrival of the Navy:

More horns sounded. The six of us stood and I grabbed my blade. Suddenly, a Dai Li agent jumped up onto the rooftop next to us and hailed me. Hakoda asked if “that was one of the assassins” to which I shook my head. He told me that the Southern Water Tribe’s forces were arriving. They were marching towards the Palace, taking the central axis road. In retrospect, I assume that Hakoda arrived personally to pay his respects. Sokka and Katara were elated to hear this, and burst out the side door before thanking Iroh. Aang joined them as they ran, I guess, towards the source of the horns. Hakoda didn’t stop them, instead following the two of us. We bowed to Iroh, thanking him as always for the excellent tea, before setting out. The Jasmine Dragon was located along the central axis. We stood there, guards on either side, banners and capes flapping in the wind. 

Off in front of us, the Water Tribesmen were marching in column formation. One man was at the head of the group, helmet under his arm. His hair was fashioned into a similar tail like that of Sokka’s or Hakoda’s. All the men bore the same navy blue armor, same dark grey wolf helmets with painted on eyes, same large shields. They all carried the same bone spears. The man at the front of the line raised his right hand, the marching force behind him stopped and marched in place. He then kowtowed. The soldiers behind him put down their weapons and did the same. 

The man walked up to the three of us and began speaking. He introduced himself as Bato, second in command of the Expeditionary Forces. He and Hakoda exchanged a hug before continuing. Toph welcomed him to the Capital and offered any of the “dozens of deserted Upper Ring houses” for barracks for the soldiers. He looked around at the empty street and looked back to us and accepted the offer. Thusly, we cordoned off a whole quarter that once belonged to nobility for the soldiers. I requested a military demonstration later in the afternoon, to which Bato looked at Hakoda, nodded, and asked for a time. I said that we’d want to see it in the late afternoon before the sun sets. Just then, Aang, Katara and Sokka emerged from behind the soldiers and came up to Bato. Apparently they ran off to find him then stood aside as he marched to us. Toph proudly stated that she didn’t care for visual demonstrations. He asked why, she waved her hand in front of her face and he sighed. Apparently the Water Tribes don’t have the same insanity of “beg for mercy when you disrespect the monarchy”. The histories point to them treating their chieftains more like equals. 

Demonstration At Dinner:

For the first time in likely centuries, the monarch held a dinner outside. A two-person Imperial table, gold with many etchings, was set up at the top of the thousand steps, food brought out, and the two of us sat down to watch. Well Toph wasn’t watching but she could feel the marching with her senses. The Avatar’s trio was down by their guest house sitting on Appa, relaxed on his saddle with food in hand. Hakoda was going to lead the demonstration. Wuhan and How sat down off to our side on chairs. We were dressed in Imperial Springtime Evening robes with capes, our hair done, wearing necklaces and for me, a ceremonial jian scabbard. 

As Toph stated while we were getting dressed, this was an event to assert our authority and prestige. Very rarely in history has another nation’s army come ashore and _ performed _ in front of the monarchy. In fact, there’s been more cases of Earth rebels marching in to Ba Sing Se than Water Tribes or the Fire Nation. The histories point this to being the first time in recorded history that such a thing occurred. The Avatar doesn’t count as he or she has overseen all Three Nation’s militaries - the Air Nomads never had a military - demonstrating for them. Never all at once, but it was commonplace for when the Avatar arrived, the nation’s best soldiers would go on parade for he or she. Aang was different and between the censorship and more than a hundred years since it last occurring, nobody remembered the custom even existing. Plus, Air Nomad Avatars usually didn’t get the military demonstration due to their pacifism. 

We were eating some imported Water Tribe smoked seal steaks -what perfect timing- when the Expeditionary Force marched in. It appeared to be a few hundred men. At the front, two men. Hakoda was the only one with a navy blue helmet, making him stand out. The white and navy blue color scheme for the soldiers was distinctive from the Royal Guard’s greens and yellows. The courtyard was quiet save for the stomping of their feet. Hakoda yelled out commands. “Bow before Her Imperial Majesty” and the entire force which had spread into blocks of sixteen by eight bowed. There were only four blocks of men. He ordered for them to form shield wall just as I bit down on a piece of jerky. The blocks tightened up, shields interlocking, spears through the gaps. _ Chomp _ . They jutted their spears out in synchronization. _ Chomp _ . I didn’t hear the name of the next formation, but it resembled a spearpoint. One block moved to the front, leaving three behind, with Hakoda at the very tip of that block er point. _ Chomp _ . He never once turned his back to us. The men spread out such that the blocks were homogenous. Suddenly, the five hundred or so men stabbed the air with their spears, moved forwards, then moved backwards. They repeated this drill. They raised shields and stabbed towards the ground. Synchronized. _ Chomp _. They put down their weapons and began punching the air. The air itself seemed to snap as five hundred men walked forwards, punching, then went back to ready position. The Avatar’s trio were busy applauding, their claps the only other noise being made. How leaned over to whisper in Wuhan’s ear. He then turned to me and commented on their skill. 

I then stood up and upon seeing me stand, Hakoda raised his hand and the army stopped. “Where are your benders?” I shouted. Hakoda turned in the direction of Appa, looked at Appa or something near Appa for a few seconds, then turned back and looked up to me. “We have only one bender in the entire South, Your Imperial Majesty!” I told him to continue the drills and sat back down. They marched in place. _ Chomp _ . They formed small twelve man circles. A new plate was brought to me. The circles formed four massive squares. How turned and asked me if there was anything I needed to be explained, I said no. _ Chomp _ . They formed back into a column and marched in place. Toph seemed to get the gist of the demonstration due to their feet placement. While she wasn’t able to see the punches or spear stabs, she could see them form up and loosen. _ Chomp _. They stopped their marching and Hakoda asked us if there was anything we wanted to see. I took the smoked meat out of my mouth and asked for them to spar. He turned and shouted something incomprehensible due to Toph’s whispering to me. She was asking if I thought they were any good, to which I commented that they seem better than the Earth Army. Her face reddened with anger and she called How over. She told him she wanted the Earth Army drilled to this extent. He sighed then told her he’d get on it. 

They formed into lines facing each other, one side stabbing with spear and the other blocking with shield. I stood again, this time the soldiers noticed and halted as Hakoda was facing away from us. He turned and bowed again, and I clarified that I wanted _ a bender _ to fight them. Wuhan and How glanced in my direction, eyebrows raised. They asked if I wanted the Royal Guards. Hakoda was still bowing. I locked my eye on Appa and the people sitting on him. I unsheathed my jian and pointed it in their direction, as they likely couldn’t see me staring at them. The whole crowd turned towards Appa, and I continued yelling. “I want the Avatar and the waterbender to fight your men!” Katara and Aang dismounted Appa, but they appeared confused from here.

“Why those two?” Hakoda asked, still bowing. I stated that “The Avatar and his waterbender companion will be expected to face hundreds of Fire Nation men in the invasion, and even if they aren’t benders they are still a threat. I want to see your shieldwall counter their attacks and I want to see their attempts to break your line”. Katara and Aang walked towards the blocks of men. I could hear Sokka’s faint shouts from here but ignored them. I whispered to Toph then told How that I didn’t trust the Earth Army to be a suitable match for the Avatar, and if the Avatar is easily able to defeat our men it doesn’t make us look very accomplished. I shouted to clarify that neither side use extreme force but that the Avatar should try his best to win and the defenders try their best to withstand the attacks.

Hakoda turned back to his men and gave more commands, ordering them into shield walls. _ Chomp _ . The blocks reformed. Then they formed spear points. _ Chomp _ . I shouted that the Avatar could use any bending styles he wished to. Katara and Aang stood next to a fountain and faced the spearpoint formations. Aang went first, launching air blasts into the men. However, their interlocking shields and packed formation withstood. He walked towards them and whirred his staff around, sending gusts at the defenders. They didn’t bulge. _ Chomp _ . Another plate was brought out. Their shields extended from shoulder to toe, blocking any low strikes. He had to be on top of them to succeed. One concentrated blast from a kick into one of the men knocked him over and before the rest of the formation could reform his airblasts cut apart the formation, sending men flying in all directions. He actually seemed best when fully surrounded, whirring air in a vortex with spinning kicks and waves from his staff. Eventually that formation splintered completely, and he looked up to me and bowed. I applauded him. _ Air is his natural choice, then _. 

I then called on Katara to fight them. Another formation showed up, again shield interlocked. She, however, made quick work of them. _ Chomp _ . With water summoned from the fountain she grabbed a shield and threw it aside, clanking against the tiled ground. She removed all their shields then ran forward into their lines. Turns out, her reach is quite far. From a hundred feet away she could still pull water from her fountain and was able to whip soldiers back. _ Chomp _. Using her octopus stance, she formed a defensive circle that waxed and waned, sending men backwards. Nobody dared attack the stance head on, and eventually when nobody acted she was declared the winner. All of them turned and bowed to us and I declared the demonstration over and thanked the soldiers for their work. They ended their demonstration with shouting “For the Avatar!” and we applauded them. They then grabbed fallen shields and spears, formed back up, and exited. 

Dinner ended and I am currently writing all this from the Imperial Bedroom. Toph and I were just discussing how we will call upon the Water Tribes for the vanguard of the Invasion. That’s all for a different time, however. A Dai Li agent just arrived and informed us that the Imperial Host was at the gates of the Outer Wall. A day or so’s march away. Furthermore, the Kyoshi Warriors finally arrived in the Upper Ring. Their Captain, Suki, will meet Toph tomorrow. We are going to sleep now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: A Girl's Day Out. Spirits help us when they get their hands on cactus juice or Toph's ability to coerce people.
> 
> Thanks for reading, as always!  
Comment if you want, or don't.


	15. Girls' Day Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara takes Toph out for a day trip to the salon. Suki joins the duo. Shenanigans ensue.
> 
> Also there's cactus juice.

HIM Entry XV:

The one time,  _ the one time _ I’m not sleeping in the Imperial Bedroom, Katara shows up and whisks Toph away on a girl’s day out.

So I was awoken at around sunrise today, Ming had arrived late apparently. When she arrived, she told me that Toph  _ left _ early in the morning due to Katara arriving at her door and asking if she’d like to go out on a “girls’ day out” or something. Toph had accepted and dressed in casual clothes. She cited that “being a Queen was boring, I’m up for trying anything”. So I awoke, had Ming help me into the most casual clothes I could find, and I set off. She asked who I was naming interim monarch and I told her that all the important decisions would just have to wait until nightfall. And then I left. I don't want to be blamed for that. Nope. Nopity Nope.  


The guards stood at attention and were wondering just  _ where _ I was going. I could tell this by their confused expressions. It's not often the Imperial Consort departs dressed like a peasant. _They should also remember who the current Earth Monarch is. _I told them I’d be back by nightfall and if anyone has any problems to just “put them in the dungeons or something”. As I walked down the thousand steps, dressed like a peasant, a Dai Li agent somehow found me -probably because I was the only person walking down the steps- and told me that Toph was going on a walk in the Upper Ring, currently sitting on a park bench. I asked how he knew and he said she told him to find me and tell me to come along. At least the Dai Li don't always bother with formalities else her spying would be for nil.  


One Eyed Spy:

The Dai Li agent led me to the location and I listened in from behind a tree. Apparently there was a third girl who joined them. A very distinctive voice belonging to a very distinctive cousin of mine. Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors, lover of drinks, Suki. Hiding in a bush was no fun. Katara was discussing...boys? I don’t really know. Something about “which of the three guys” would they like to...I don’t really remember because there’s an annoyingly stiff breeze. They sat there, joking and chatting around. I do recall Katara giggling at some comment. Lots of giggling. Lots of Katara complaining about “why she had to end up with the monk” of the three of “them”.  _ I thought she wasn’t dating him? It's just a crush, no? Couldn’t she just date that moody ex-prince?  _ When Suki brought up her crush on Sokka -_Sokka? Really? Hey I'm not one to judge. Wait yes I am, he's a bit of a idiot-_ and “desire to go further” Katara got really angry and went “don’t talk about my brother like that! He’s my brother!” and the other two just lost themselves in laughter. Suki tried to resolve this. “So, we can talk about having sex with a member of the Imperial Family and the guy who is the physical embodiment of the spirits, two really important people, but your brother, we can’t?” Katara seemed to try and clarify her double standard “well, he can’t get a fishhook out of his hand, how is he someone you aspire to Suki?” And Suki just shrugged her shoulders “I mean, Kyoshi Island doesn’t have that many guys and most of them are my distant cousins.” The other two nodded in understanding. “Well, same with the Southern Water Tribe, everyone is probably related somehow”. Toph meanwhile was laughing at both of them trying to explain why incest is a bad thing. As if it needed to be explained? Somehow the conversation went from “mentioning Sokka is disgusting” to “so, incest sucks right?” and eventually “so how do I go further with Aang” and “you don’t, Sugar Queen, he’s a monk”. I still think the biggest takeaway from all this is  _ so Katara is all motherly except when she’s with Toph and Suki? Come on _ . Also, I'm not that disgusted by Suki talking about wanting to be deflowered. I guess the Water Tribes are just...more childish?  


I sat there for hours, _hours_, inside that bush. I _know_ Toph knew I was there because...she’s Toph. They eventually, _finally_, got up and went to some place where they’d get their hair done, or something. Also, Toph was wearing her wrestler outfit. I had to be sure to mesh in with the crowd to avoid being spotted. It was hard. Suki is very perceptive and _knows_ when people are watching her. Something something Kyoshi Warrior training. Also I’m never forgiving you for _popping out of the floorboard_ _in front of me_ when we were having dinner at Oyaji’s house, Suki.  


I had to vary between scanning for their positions through the window, thank the spirits for the shades, and keeping my head ducked outside to listen in. Thankfully, all their girly things take place in back rooms facing alleyways. Katara and Suki were happy to get their feet done, but Toph. She screamed to the heavens. Loud enough that the ground shook. Then she used her earthbending to  _ toss the woman  _ through the wall. The masseuses backed off. Katara and Suki, meanwhile, were laughing. All the while, Katara was mentioning Aang’s training, Suki was discussing her journey here and Toph was busy reburying her feet in the dirt. Suki eventually asked if Toph would like her and the Kyoshi Warriors as our personal bodyguards, to which Toph told her to ask me instead as her personal guards were pretty good. That segued into a discussion on Toph’s dozens of assassination attempts, all failures. She made sure to mention the goriest ones. Like me cleaving the guy’s hands off one at a time. Or when she cut someone in half with an earth pillar. Or when she  _ splat’d _ a guy into the courtyard, his limbs going flying. Katara seemed almost ready to retch at this, which just caused Toph to laugh. Because Toph found it funny. Suki didn't care eitherway. Funny battle stories is one of the many minor traditions on Kyoshi Island. I wouldn't say we pride ourselves on recounting the goriest deaths, but we do pride ourselves on individuals defeating armies much larger than them. Like the story of Koko, Kyoshi's daughter, second head of the Kyoshi Warriors, killing a hundred soldiers over the course of a attempted invasion of the Kyoshi Islands. Using just a stick and her knowledge of the terrain. Or that's how the story goes at least.  


They moved on to getting their hair done, in a different room in the building, something Toph didn’t mind as much. She  _ was _ annoyed when her healthy layer of earth was removed. However, Katara convinced her to calm down and  _ not _ send this woman through a wall. Toph also didn’t use her name Toph, instead going by “Bandit” for fear that people would recognize this woman as the current monarch. It didn’t help that an image of her, one of the small poster sized ones, was hanging on one of the walls. Katara, now seemingly inebriated with happiness, was asking Toph if she’d ever ‘done it’ with me yet. Toph replied by going “yes, once, why”. In retrospect, this should’ve been a warning. So Katara, for all her motherliness, was extremely interested in Toph’s experience. Toph, being Toph, refused to budge. So Katara tossed a different idea out. “What if I had sex with him, wouldn’t you ask me questions?” Toph laughed, and told her “I wouldn’t ask you questions but I  _ do _ want you to have sex with him”. Katara, taking a page out of Toph’s book, screamed “WHAT?” Toph kept laughing, interspersing her booming laughs and “no, I’m serious, I’ll invite you to do it.” Katara seemed skeptical and tried to counter Toph, stating that “I don’t do that…” to which Toph went “but you aren’t dating him”. Long story short, girls on a girls day out discuss really strange things.  


They then spent some time in a sauna, not wearing sarasashis. I chose not to peep in for this, as a) there’s no window and b) it's not appropriate even if all three have seen me naked at one point or another  _ thanks for popping out of the trees and scaring me with my pants down while I was swimming in that one hidden inlet Suki.  _ All I recall from this time spent was Suki commenting on Katara not shaving, to which Toph called her, loudly, “Fuzzy Britches”. That caused Katara to rage and make the water in the sauna freeze. Suki seemed happy with the freezing air, commenting how “back on Kyoshi we all go skinny dipping in the water right around the Winter Solstice” and “get hammered and run around the villages naked in the middle of winter”. She also clarified that "every home on Kyoshi Island had a sauna in it, right next to the spirits cabinet". These comments likely earned a glance from Katara, but then Toph went “but you live in winter all the time don’t treat her like she’s weird”. They then discussed stuff they’ve secretly done that nobody else ever knows about. I don’t have any examples because I had to go get a drink -besides, secrets are secrets- so I left and by the time I came back they were getting dressed. I wish to clarify that we do indeed have saunas in each house on Kyoshi Island, and it's common for people to go swimming in freezing water then jump in the sauna. Or vice versa. As for the spirits? If _you_ came from a island that was submerged in below-freezing temperatures half the year and "hot" meant it wasn't snowing, you'd drink too. Plus it warms up the body. And makes wintertime sports that much more entertaining.  


Cactus Juice:

I spotted the blue dress of the Water Tribes through a crowd and followed them to a local bar. There, the bar was apparently selling this substance called cactus juice. I recall the histories mentioning a Fire Lord of four centuries past drinking cactus juice then setting himself on fire because he thought if he immolated himself he’d become a dragon. Instead, he immolated himself and his halfwit sister-wife. It helped that he was the product of Royal incest. His son's death, voluntarily defenestration in the attempt to grow wings, caused Sozin's grandfather to declare open rebellion and unite the islands into the modern Fire Nation.  


Toph coerced them into drinking before she would. Suki went first, always up for a drink, clinking her glass against Toph's. Katara followed,  and Toph followed her because she never says no to a challenge especially ones she makes herself. I made myself visible, and the three geniuses rose from their seats. Katara stared me in the eye and began. “Your”  _ hiccup  _ “Imperial”  _ hiccup  _ “Badgermole”. I stared back at her and grabbed her before she fell over. I called the Dai Li agent who was following/protecting me. He showed up, he got some other agents to arrive and they carried the three inebriated nutters back to the Imperial Palace. Of course, it was up to me to explain this to the ministers. Lots of people were screaming. “Why is the Queen drunk?” “Why are these two peasants being carried inside?” I ignored them, walked up to Wuhan and asked if anyone new was in the dungeons yet. He said no. I exclaimed my disappointment, but we had bigger tasks at hand. I placed each one in a different bedroom. As I was about to check up on Suki, a few minutes later, a naked Toph ran past.

Someone help me there’s a naked Queen running around the Palace:

I gave chase. 

I gave chase to the -naked- Earth Queen. 

I yelled out for the guards to stop her, but as she was the Queen they were  _ not _ allowed to. So it was up to me. I cursed the bureaucracy and ran. And ran. And ran. All the while, Toph was screaming of “chasing her pet badgermole” or something. And fired earth pillars at me. Thankfully, while the guards couldn’t grab her, they could stop the earth pillars. She eventually fell over and as I tried to tackle her she just sent earth pillars in all directions. She made a half dozen massive holes in the walls. Guards would patch one up and she’d bust a hole in another. She squirmed out from under my grip and continued running. Eventually she ran back into her own bedroom, claiming she had caught the badgermole or something. I dismissed the guards and they went to rest. I took twenty minutes and went to get a drink. Afterwards, I went to the training room to practice with my jian.

Katara eventually awoke, woke up Toph, and both tracked me down. Toph was happy to tell me the entire day’s events, which made Katara angry and go “do you know what secrets are Toph?” Toph shrugged and said “secrets? What are those, Fuzzy Britches?” Katara fumed. Toph grinned as she spilled the beans on Katara's secrets, which made me laugh and miss my jian strike. Katara, meanwhile, turned beet red and tried to punch Toph who just moved the earth underneath Katara, making her punch the air and toppled over. She got back up, looked my way, a furious expression making me grateful her waterskin wasn't on hand. I offered to ship a barrel of cactus juice to their guest house, to which Katara went “no please never do” and swore off it ever again. Didn’t matter, I  _ will _ send a barrel to their house, eventually. But not tonight. Suki bid me a good afternoon and a good day, we exchanged a Kyoshi Island greeting, a headbutt, and she ran off to get her clothes I presume.  


Toph, meanwhile, tried to coerce me. “Oh, but I want to have bastards to chase after in my later years on the throne”. Katara and I stared at each other and laughed. Toph also mentioned one of those passing secrets from earlier, something about “waterbending being able to bend liquids within your body” which just made me wince at the thought of...I don’t even know._ Spirits._ Toph, nonetheless, clarified that she wanted bastards, not now, but eventually. We kept laughing. However, Toph _was_ serious. I knew she was, but I played it off as a joke. Katara hugged me as a thank you, turned, and went back to her house. Toph and I changed into our Evening robes. 

We sat down on the top of the thousand steps to enjoy the afternoon breeze and lunch. A few minutes passed. Toph revealed she knew I was there the whole time, up until the cactus juice. She punched me in the shoulder "as a thank you for carrying me back, Kyoshi. Also I like your...cousin or whatever". A Dai Li agent ran up the steps and yelled for me. I stood up and involuntarily gripped my hilt. Behind him, horns sounded in succession. The Outer Gate opened and a single man on a ostrich horse rode through. He raised his fist to the air and shouted. The Commoner General's arrival _style_ was as distinctive as his titular title.  


Behind him, three hundred thousand men march down the central axis road. The Imperial Host has arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cactus Juice. Kills Hapsburg-level-incest dynasties and drives people to act like a soberized Sokka.
> 
> The standing army of the Earth Kingdom arrives, next chapter finalizes the invasion plans and everyone prepares to set out.
> 
> Want to finalize something? Finalize a decision to press that comment button! Or don't.   
I love the amount of readers, by the way. Even if you're just passing through, here's a handshake!


	16. The Mustering of the Forces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Earth Kingdom's standing army, three hundred thousand men, arrive in Ba Sing Se. Invasion plans are mostly finalized.

HIM Entry XVI:

First the Water Tribe showed up - synchronized and hardened -, then the Kyoshi Warriors -stealthy and deadly- snuck in. Now  _ our _ men arrive. 

The Assembly:

The Imperial Bannermen stood around us. Wuhan and How stood next to Toph. Shi sounded a horn. Shouting came from inside the palace. Far below us, Appa roared and the three figures emerged from their guest house. Off to our left, Hakoda emerged from a side street, Bato at his side, both clad in their battle armor. Around us, the ministers filtered out of the main doors and stood at our sides. Men wielding Imperial Banners ran down the thousand steps and stood in a line in front of them, forming a wall of flags. A dozen Earth Priests -I assume that's who those figures are- stood next to the Imperial Shrine. The three figures mounted Appa and watched. Bato and Hakoda stood off to our left, a couple more Water Tribe soldiers gathered at their sides. The Kyoshi Warriors appeared near Appa, recognizable from here by their fan headdresses. Courtiers lined up along the other guest houses. The Outer Gates remained open. Columns of men with Earth Kingdom flags, mounted on lances, marched in. 

Fong dismounted his ostrich horse at the foot of the thousand steps. An attendant grabbed the horse and pulled it away. He turned to face his men. Feet clattered. His Bannermen reached the Inner Courtyard and spread out. Men broke off from the marching column and took their places across the two courtyards. They filled it up in quickstep. The coronation barely had anyone in attendance by comparison. Thousands stood in the Inner Courtyard, alone. Triple that in the Outer Courtyard.

Upon closer inspection, the clothing and armor of the troops was not uniform. Some had beards, some had mustaches, some wore their hair in queues. Some were of olive complexion, some as pale as snow. Most of the clothing was dirty. At their sides, a few had jians, many had daos, many more had simple daggers. Some clutched spears. Some held axes. Different insignia lined their shoulder-pads. Some wore greaves, some wore cuirasses. Most wore simple peasant garb. A few wore fur capes. The one uniform aspect was that all the soldiers wore conical hats and that all the clothing was a greenish-yellow. 

Fong kowtowed, and like a wave, the rest of the army followed. He shouted “For the Earth Queen” and the rest chanted it. Where the Water Tribes might be hardened, the Kyoshi Warriors might be great assassins and the Fire Nation might have very high standards, the Earth Kingdom had numbers. While the Water Tribes treat their chieftain like a brother, the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom treated their monarch like a god. Toph raised her hands and grinned, feeling the massive audience in her presence. The soldiers repeated their chants. They didn’t mesh into one voice. They were of a thousand accents. Fong changed the chant, yelling “For the Earth Kingdom”. The army repeated the chant, while still kowtowing. Toph was genuinely elated. The rest of us stared in shock at this army. I mean I know Toph can't see this many men, its more akin to her feeling thousands of stone pillars on the ground, but the rest of us have never seen so many men. The Water Tribes might be good at fighting in the extremist northern climates, the Fire Nation might be technologically superior, but why does it matter? We have the earth itself. 

Off to our sides, Hakoda looked on in amazement. The three figures atop Appa likely thought the same. The Kyoshi Warriors had kowtowed, after all they were a member of the Earth Kingdom even if that would end within a few days. The courtiers on the flanks had also kowtowed and remained in such a position. While the Water Tribes could demonstrate skillful formations, the Fire Nation could likely perform really elegant looking ballet, the Earth Kingdom needed neither. Fire may be an element of expansion, but Earth is the element of the defense. Put these thousands on a battlefield, give them a few commands and their lines will be unbreakable. Spirits knows what the army size used to be before the century long war. The bigger question is "how do you fail so badly when you outnumber the enemy army ten-to-one?" _Also, this isn't even counting the however-many-thousand are currently in the lands of the Rebels_.  


Fong stood, and Toph, breaking court rules, called out personally to him. “Welcome to Ba Sing Se, General” she stated, arms on her hips. “Your Imperial Majesty, I have answered the call. We are honored to be in your presence.” Then he yelled out. “Right men?” Behind him, the now standing mass chanted in the affirmative. Toph whispered to Wuhan, I don’t know what she said but he responded with “they see you as someone divine”, to which she yelled out “sweet!”. 

Fong ascended the stairs while the  _ vanguard _ of his army stood in our Courtyards. He brought us a scroll and informed us that the Earth Navy was mooring off the western coast. Our ships might not be the Water Tribe cutters, but thousands of junks were still thousands of transports. I called for a snap War Meeting. Fong dismissed his men, who gave one more “Long Live the Earth Queen” sendoff shout before dispersing in all directions. Let the recorders know that whereas the Fire Nation might walk backwards, professionally, the Earth Army is not organized. Their sole unifying factor is their monarch, a god to the people. Dai Li agents ran off to find the other members for the War Meeting whilst we boarded the Imperial Carriage and rode off to the Council’s tower. How got in with us. Soldiers stood at attention on either side, cheering as we passed. The Upper Ring, once crowded, then empty, was now crowded again.

The Table’s All Set:

We entered the War Room, the guards kowtowing as usual. Toph took her place, I to her right, How to my right. Soon, the other three members joined us, Dai Li flanking each. Sokka and his father took their places to our left. Katara and Aang weren’t part of this, instead sitting in and listening. Fong came up to the center, the five of us framing the table like the Council of Five once did. Sokka presented the current plan, or at least the first stage of it. Somehow, he had enough free time to actually draw, er, write up the plan.

We’d depart in a few days for the journey west. If everything goes well, we will land ashore Caldera the same day as Black Sun. The Water Tribes will lead the assault as waterbenders have an advantage in amphibious operations. The Earth Army will land afterwards, and How and I will lead the army in a charge to overwhelm the defenders, capture the city, and hold it while Aang defeats the Fire Lord. Sokka is the architect of this plan and gets full credit if it succeeds. How named Song, the aged lieutenant, as interim general while he and Fong depart for the Invasion. How's other two subordinates would join Song as acting generals.  


Side note: Nobody asked where the armies would get their provisions. Nobody asked where the prisoners would go. 

Aang was to train in waterbending and earthbending every day until we depart next week.

The most recent map of the Fire Nation in Earth Kingdom possession was one from a century ago. The geography hasn’t changed, but the size of towns and all the defenses have.  


While we stood there, looking down at a map of the world, a couple more figures barged in. General Iroh, Jeong Jeong, Pakku and Piandao. They all kowtowed, on cue. I did ask the Dai Li to summon Iroh, but at the time I had forgotten they were supposed to arrive. The four were clad in white robes. They introduced a new dimension to this battle plan. 

Iroh offered to help give advice on the invasion. He refused offers of the throne, but accepted joining the Navy as they crossed the sea. He would come along as a strategist. Likewise, the other three masters would help with the invasion. They murmured of possessing their own Fire Nation cruiser. Iroh, being Grand Lotus, took advantage of his three year long journey around the world with Zuko to make connections and obtain resources, ships, men and safehouses, for the purpose of "helping my nephew should his claim to the throne be challenged".  


One question nobody ever asked is "does Zuko want to even be Fire Lord?" Likewise, he wasn't present at this meeting, so what happens if he rejects it? The Earth Kingdom is quite happy to obtain colonies, -especially the lands of seal jerky- but the Fire Nation has a line of succession. 

I tried to bring up Azula having a dragon, but Aang seemed unafraid. Simply reminding people of Azula caused the guards and How to visibly shake. _They definetely remember_. I remember trying to beg Aang to be more careful. "Your Holiness, Azula _torched_ the Imperial Palace. She did more damage to the Earth Kingdom in a hour than three Fire Lords and a century of war." Sokka seemed to get the idea, but Aang spoke up. "Don't worry, Your Earthliness, we've got our own flying animal, Appa. And I've got Katara and Sokka". The other two smiled. On the one hand, I fear for him. On the other hand, he singlehandedly destroyed a third of the Fire Navy in one battle. The Avatar State _is_ pretty powerful. 

The meeting was dismissed and we returned to the top of the thousand steps. Beneath us, soldiers gathered to watch Pakku and Katara duel Aang. Toph "didn’t have time for this", though. She returned to the Badgermole Throne and relaxed while courtiers brought information for her. The first batch of female recruits were done with training, and as we had predicted, a dozen women, all from the Colonies, had very high marks on the tactics and strategy tests. Toph ordered they be invited to the Palace, not this minute, to help start a Royal Earth Academy for women. How asked her if she’d be joining us for the invasion, to which she stated “well, no, why would I get on a boat?”. So this was going to be one of those “hey, Consort, go lead the entire Earth Army or something” events, right?  


Suki arrived with the Kyoshi Warriors, again, I still don’t know how she tracked down Katara earlier for their day out but...she did.  _ Ninja _ . Someone, somewhere, somehow, requested these people be my bodyguards. I don’t remember asking it but maybe my journal says I did. Now, instead of Royal Guards I’d have Suki following me around. So, the Kyoshi Warriors’ skills were put to the test earlier when some guy dressed in black, swinging two chains, again I don’t know where they pick these hard to use weapons, tried to ambush Toph and I while we were in the Imperial Bedroom, chatting. The man jumped in, his chains so cumbersome he swung at Toph and hit a lantern instead, the Kyoshi Warriors jumped in, hide-a-shields at the ready, forming a barricade of buckler shields in front of us. Suki then drew her katana and cut the guy in two before I could grab my hide-a-jian. Good on you Suki. 

Finally finished, hard to believe this day started with pedicures and ended with a really, really, terrible assassination plan.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People forget to ask questions that would be really important in a invasion. Let's hope it doesn't come back to bite them.  
On the one hand, Aang should be scared of a dragon, on the other hand, he's the Avatar. 
> 
> We are moving on to AU-Black Sun + AU-Crossroads of Destiny (at the same time) soon.
> 
> Maybe you, as a commenter, can ask a question that will possibly certainly maybe come back to bite the Avatar as well.   
Thanks for reading, as always!


	17. Onwards!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Imperial Navy (or Earth Navy, take your pick) is massive. The Water Navy is much more elegant.  
The Fire Navy would rather die at sea. 
> 
> "Good soldiers follow orders"

HIM Entry XVII:

I write this from the Imperial Quarters of an Imperial Junk. I didn’t even know such a ship existed this morning. But it does. This is a summary of the last few days and my first day at sea.

The Imperial Navy:

We departed a few days after the War Meeting. I convinced Toph to join the invasion plan as “there’s lots of fire whiskey in the Fire Nation”. Upon hearing her favorite drink would be plentiful, she hugged my arm. Zuko chose to go along with Iroh after Iroh explained to us that he has “changed” as a person, or something. Iroh has this belief in metamorphosis, in my humble opinion as the second most powerful person in the Earth Kingdom, that’s complete nonsense. Want to know what metamorphosis is? When I cut a guy’s head off for trying to kill Toph or I. He definitely “changed” in that moment. Zuko is not my business, however. 

One of the downsides of an invasion force comprised of a coalition is who serves whom. _ Technically _ all forces answer to the Avatar, himself. But Aang was not a military strategist, Sokka was. And when we reached the coast, a thousand boats filling up the lake showed a flaw in such a chain of command. Iroh obtained an old Fire Nation cruiser, somehow. Despite being a White Lotus member, I cannot wrap my mind around how this old guy is able to do all this. It bore the flag of the Fire Navy beneath a flag of the White Lotus. It was painted white to differentiate itself from the Fire Navy. It was, according to him, manned by Fire Nation members of the White Lotus who loved their homeland but “didn’t like the current line of despots”. The current rumor is that this ship belonged to Jeong Jeong or Iroh and was left at a forgotten dock somewhere, waiting for the White Lotus to find it and fire it up. Again, which ships come from where, not my business. I -help- run the Earth Kingdom. They serve the Avatar and thus answer to him. 

The Imperial Junk was a nine-masted behemoth. Five hundred feet in length, a hundred feet high, it cast shadows on the ships to one flank despite it being nearly midday. Nothing showed the Earth Kingdom’s might like this ship. The Imperial Carriage halted, Toph and I got out and ascended the large gangplank . Toph specifically demanded a layer of dirt be plastered across the ship’s wooden floors. So insisted was she that the Guards earthbend boulders onboard, broke them into flakes and dispersed them evenly across the top decks where Toph would likely walk. Toph, bored with ships because it's not like she has anything to look at, went to the Imperial Quarters to go pick her toes. Meanwhile, I stood at the bow and watched signalmen raise and lower flags. We wouldn’t have to directly command anything, the dozens of captains already had a war plan sent about. We could simply sit back and watch victory or something according to General How. Off aside us, Hakoda’s personal cutter sailed alongside, the Avatar and his companions, including Appa, sitting on the main deck. He hailed us, informed us the Water Tribe would lead ahead as per plan, while Appa could relay between ships. An hour of packing supplies later, as most of the Earth Army was already on their transports and we were just the last to get on, the Water Tribe set off. To our side, dozens of Home Guard stood to wave us off, a couple of them were women -Toph was elated to hear this- and we sailed into the Mo Ce. 

Officer Problems:

The coast, a rocky ridgeline, slowly disappeared behind us. We were at the front of the Earth transports, a line of blue ships ahead of us being the Water Tribe cutters. They were much faster than our outdated junks, but we had numbers. Historically, the Earth monarchy would sit at the back of the offensive, but try telling Toph that. She leads by example. And nobody could tell her what to do other than me and the best I could do was give suggestions. 

Speaking of, the chain of command for this invasion hasn’t been resolved. You’ve got the Avatar: in theory he controls the entire invasion plan, well Sokka does, and yet he also controls his own bison and his companions. You’ve got Hakoda: subservient to the Avatar because his kids are the Avatar’s companions, he’s also one of the main planners of the operation, and the Avatar is staying on his flagship. Combine these factors together and he’s got the most up to date information, not to mention he’s part of the team developing the plans. We opted to leave Hakoda and Sokka to run the amphibious part and the main invasion while How and I would plan the holding of the city. Earthbenders made for better defenders, afterall. Then you’ve got Toph and I: technically subservient to the Avatar but he has absolutely no authority over our movements. 

The Earth Kingdom doesn’t see the Avatar as always being right, contrary to the Water Tribe or Air Nomads. Since past Avatars have varied in terms of responsibility, some as lax as Kuruk and some as strict as Yangchen or as head-on as Kyoshi, the Earth monarch wasn’t always required to follow the Avatar’s commands. The monarch would make the independent decision to do so if the Avatar was deemed “with the Spirits”. According to Head Priest Li, Aang, having run away a hundred years ago, would be in the same camp as Kuruk. After his achievement at the North Pole, his suggestions would be heeded -according to the customs-, but the Queen would freely be allowed to disobey the commands. Granted, Toph may personally see potential in him. Now, has anyone told Aang this? No. And if he or anyone wanted to update our invasion plan, it would probably take a week to inform every ship captain. The Water Tribe’s size allowed it to be adaptable. The Earth Navy, like the Kingdom, couldn’t change so quickly. Add to this that in theory the average Earth Navy Captain had three different sources of information: The Earth Queen, Hakoda/Sokka and the Avatar -not to mention any direct officers above him-, and one can see why How, Toph and I insisted that the main invasion plan not be changed when talking to Hakoda at the last War Meeting before we departed. The Avatar didn’t have a seal like the Earth Queen did. As such, there was no way to get Aang or Sokka’s wishes in writing and easily passed around. A thousand ships would rely on word of mouth and signalling. We were now out on the open sea, the next landmass to our west would be Caldera.

The Battle over the Mo Ce Sea:

I write this from the middle of the next day. The smell of saltwater and stiff sea breeze that sends shivers down your spine will never get old. 

Sometime before dawn, Toph and I were awoken by running footsteps bursting in through our bedroom. All I heard was “...under attack” and I rolled out of bed and grabbed my jian. Toph, too, got up. At first we thought there was an assassin, but the attendant repeated himself. “There is a blockade ahead of us, we are under attack”. Toph took no time in bothering with court rules, she ran out the door -able to see with the dirt floor- and ran for the bow. I joined suit. We were both half dressed. The Kyoshi Warriors, our new additions, didn’t bother with kowtowing, they just flanked the two of us as we ran for the main deck. I yelled out for what was happening, and my answer came in fireballs. Far off the front bow, lines of fireballs illuminated the twilight before crashing back into the sea from whence they came. I turned and told Toph, she gave a witty response: “and this is why I don’t take boats”. 

I yelled for the Helmsman to advance full. Despite being a nine masted junk, whoever built this thing fitted it with - at the time - brand new coal engines. They were ancient by comparison to the Fire Nation’s fleet, but allowed for the ship to pick up in speed. The Avatar’s bison flew over, hovering alongside the speeding ship. Aang yelled out asking what we were planning to do. Toph responded, despite previously not wanting to be a part of this, that we’d charge the blockade head on. As for artillery, all Earth Navy junks possess massive storage compartments for earth coins. A earthbender would pull one out and each earthbender suddenly became a one-man artillery emplacement. New coins could quickly be ‘minted’ if we pass alongside an island or even a small rocky outcropping. 

Our navy plowed forward. Ahead of us, the sky lightening showed that the Water Navy were expert dodgers. The ocean became much rougher as we sailed towards the oncoming shelling. Likely a result of the combined effort of Pakku, Katara and Aang making the tides deliberately rough. _ Note to self: Never engage a waterbender at sea _ . This whole time, the air was tense. _ Closer _ . Off ahead of us, cutters were boarding ships. _ Closer _ . A fireball landed off our portside. _ Closer _ . A fireball would’ve struck down one of our masts but the Avatar, on his bison, flew _ into _ it and destroyed it with earthbending, likely. I ran from the bow to the center of the deck, it was time to command. I yelled.

“Artillery! Loose!” 

A horn blared. 

Suddenly, the sounds of earth projectiles deafened the battlefield. On either side, dozens of ships were firing their earth coins at the Fire Navy’s two lines of defenders. Their catapults were rent useless as they were cut in two. On my left, an earth coin went right into the bridge tower of a battleship, denting it far enough that it tipped over and with a loud snap fell into the now frigid seas. Another coin to my left came down from a high arc, shattering upon impact on the deck, shredding the dozen men and women manning the catapults with shrapnel. The ship had to turn southwards due to rough waters.

I turned towards the back of the ship and yelled again. “Loose!” A horn blared again. The tip of the red sun was peeping the horizon off starboard as the second barrage found its mark. The Fire Navy seemed to cry out as ships were being battered with table sized earth coins. Bridges were hit with one shot, dented with another, knocked down with a third. 

The last act of one unlucky helmsman was to turn his ship left. His ship sat directly off our port side. His bridge snapped in two due to thirty different shots focusing on him. His cruiser rammed a cruiser heading in the opposite direction. This was because the Blockade had two lines of ships, running in opposite directions. This unlucky man’s attempt to escape caused a collision. The icebreakers on the front of each ship acted as a sort of letter opener on a grand, gruesome scale. I can’t write down what it sounded like, but the metal might as well have been paper. The icebreaker sawed the front portion of the other ship off before succumbing to its wounds and listing. The other ship, cut in two, sank _ fast _ . Few had time to escape. Being the early morning, most of the crew was likely asleep. They don’t tell you about all those men and women in the history books. I _ watched _ those men and women die. They were right there, a few hundred feet off port. A whole contingent were trying to swim away but were caught by the battleship coming down on top of them. A couple soldiers, wearing heavy armor, those who jumped off when the ship was approaching, were pulled down by the rough waves. The Avatar’s own rough waves. At the time I fell back in shock, Suki had to help me up. I ordered the ship to turn left to rescue anyone we could, probably against the wishes of Hakoda but he wasn’t my superior. About twenty men and women grabbed onto the nets we tossed down to help them aboard. They climbed to the main deck and were crying in thanks to us and Agni. I reminded Suki and Toph that these men and women weren’t Ozai. Just soldiers. Good soldiers follow orders. They followed theirs. Both agreed with my request to treat them well and lock them up in the metal brig. The Earth Kingdom aspired to be quite civilized. Kyoshi Island especially. We don’t kill those who surrendered. I don’t speak for the provincials, but for the monarchy itself. The survivors didn’t care, they were numb.

But the battle raged on around us, ignoring this one event. The two lines of Fire Navy ships were being hewn fast. Similar events were transpiring on either side. Ships were being sawed in two. A couple ships turned tail and sailed westwards, their engines chugging as fast as they could. Others tried to keep up the blockade lines but made wide turns to avoid the many sinking ships. Some of our ships were set alight by the fireballs. The Water Tribe wasn’t as polite as us. Hakoda’s own ship -visible due to the three moon flag- boarded a cruiser and left with no prisoners. The Avatar, meanwhile, was flying along, keeping the sea rough. His band of merry pacifists were blindly unaware of what was transpiring around them. 

I continued ordering volleys, as the blockade wouldn’t break until the last ship sank. The ships to our sides, seeing my action of rescuing survivors, opted to do the same. A ship sailed up to a sinking bulkhead and retrieved fifty or so of them. This event was repeated across the sinking blockade. The Water Navy didn’t seem to follow these rules, however. They weren’t under Toph’s command, and Hakoda - according to my advisors - has a personal vendetta against the Fire Navy. 

The sun sat low in the sky when the blockade was finally shattered. Turns out, Iroh’s ship was the one to break the enemy fleet. His maneuver to charge into the fracturing lines was, thanks to a few well timed broadsides, what caused the last of the blockade to turn and run. Far off the portside, a few plumes of smoke at various heights showed a couple ships were fleeing west. Around us, countless ships were half-sunk, some were tilting, some had keeled over. The cries of the drowning waned. Replaced by the sounds of seagulls and a heavy metallic sound as a ship finally succumbed to the tides. The seabed wasn’t even that far beneath us, a hundred feet according to a draft measurement. 

Some battleships that fell over at _ just _ the right angle ended up with their bows jutting upwards to the heavens. It looked quite similar to a skybound wall of spikes if only every twentieth spike was left in. An immortal memorial to the day when in the Third Month of the Reign of Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen, the unified Water Tribe and Earth Navies smashed a Fire Nation blockade.

Toph, Suki and I discussed what to do with the prisoners. We concluded that they’d remain under guard protection at all times, their hands would have to be shackled, but otherwise they were to be treated well if they passed Toph’s lie detector. She went down to the brig and interviewed each prisoner, asking them questions that would -with a human lie detector- determine their loyalties. I don’t know what questions, Suki simply told me Toph asked them questions that, if they lied, she’d be able to detect. Thankfully for them, all of them came up as truthful on Toph’s lie detector. As a result, they were to be treated with respect, given food equal to our soldier’s rations and given their own private brig rooms as we have a massive brig. 

The sun was reaching its meridian. I had just awoken from a quick nap, brought on by a sudden bout of exhaustion. Thanks for waking me Suki,_ the best cousin ever _. I woke Toph, who told me she was hungry. She asked me to ask if we had any seal jerky. I called for courtiers to bring some. Ten minutes later, various courtiers returned and reported we were out of it. 

So what does Toph do? She just ordered the ship to turn north to sail to the North Pole to get us some seal jerky. Little does she know, the entire navy behind us followed us northwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toph wants seal jerky.  
If Toph says something nobody can dispute her.  
Toph's going to get her seal jerky.
> 
> I can't want myself into a comment, sadly.  
Side note, I am amazed at how many people have read this. I thought I'd have like ten hits over the course of a month.


	18. The Northern Water Tribe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stalingrad, on ice!

The journey to the North Pole was supposed to take four weeks. Using the trade winds -last recorded a century ago-, we did it in two. This is a retelling of those events and what came after.

Chain of Command Confusion:

The sinking hulks emitted a wall of black smoke. The last we knew of the Avatar before turning north, he was travelling to the Fire Nation to do recon. This was what we derived from messenger hawks being sent to Hakoda. For some reason, Hakoda assumed that us not directly following the Water Navy meant we were planning to wait a day to resume sailing. Why? I’d guess because if the entire Earth Navy crowded in the fast Water Tribe cutters, the invasion would turn into a bottleneck. If we come a day later, its enough time for his men to take the dockyards and moles which would allow our more cumbersome, bigger, less maneuverable junks to drop off men. Our ships didn’t have low drafts. I ordered that we respond by saying to “expect delays”. To the best of my knowledge, the Black Sun was a month away? I didn’t remember at the time. 

Nobody from the rest of the Earth Navy questioned our decision. Nobody could speak to the Queen after all. Even if Her Imperial Majesty establishes herself as someone who the common man can interact with, they still won’t. The Earth Kingdom’s traditions don’t change. She’s still the divine holder of the Mandate of the Spirits. She’s still a god to the Earth Kingdom people. She might be loved, benevolent ruler who has more interest in what the people want, but she’s still a god. Everywhere you go, the same small poster-sized image of Toph, hands together, on the Badgermole Throne. When I think about it, I’m like a god to these people as well. How many ships, rooms, have images of “The One Eyed Badgermole”, hand on hilt, standing proudly, foot resting on a tattered Fire Nation flag while an Earth Kingdom flag is raised behind him? Many. 

As we neared the tip of the Northwestern Earth Kingdom, where we’d turn from heading NW to N, we first noticed the lights. At night, a curtain of green light would flutter off to the north. Eventually, we got close enough that we were beneath it. It was like someone had a stiff breeze, blowing curtains of light as green as jade back and forth across the nighttime sky. A sharp contrast from the salmon colored scar that crossed the night sky, the Milky Way. Soldiers got on their knees and prayed. Toph, meanwhile, was lying back picking her toes and making fun of how “you see nothing once you see it a thousand times”. I found that pretty funny, actually. As did Suki.

Toph summoned me one night to ask me for counsel. I brought along Suki, obviously. We walked in to the Imperial Bedroom, after all, we were invited, and unsurprisingly, encountered a naked Toph lying back and stretching out. Suki jumped out of shock, but quickly calmed down because _ she’s seen this a thousand times _ . We sat down on the chairs and discussed plans. Toph would sail to the Northern Water Tribe, pick up some seal jerky, then “I’d like to travel to the North Pole and spend a night there”. We both blurted out a “why?”. Toph’s reaction? “Because I want to”. The two of us with-eyes looked at each other and sighed. Suki seemed to predict Toph’s thinking and asked her “is this some excuse to just sleep with my cousin at the North Pole?” Toph sat up from the bed, crossed her arms and grinned. “Yup”. I punched myself in the face. “Toph, I’m not going to travel to the North Pole and have a sleepover”. Toph turned red and became quite frustrated. Then she pulled her trap card. The card that she can technically pull and I can’t say no to. “Bow, Consort”. I got up and got in front of her and bowed. “You _ will _ come with me to the North Pole”. Part of me was disappointed, but most of me was busy thinking _ hey, it sounds fun _ so I went “yes, Your Imperial Majesty”. She broke into laughter afterwards. I could’ve said no and what could she do, tell my cousins to tie me up and drag me to the North Pole? I mean probably. To be honest, there’s something embarrassing about being dragged to the North Pole by your cousins -hands and legs bound- just because the Earth Queen wants to sleepover there. 

Most days were comprised of me practicing with Suki and the other Warriors. We’d practice on each other as nobody wanted to waste any earth ammunition. The practice was reminiscent of childhood, except I was missing an eye this time. “Duels” turned into the lot of us wrestling back and forth. Toph was sure to ‘watch’ and make some genius comments to distract one party from the other. Suki and I might have a fan-sword fight, and Toph would show up, yell out some comment along the lines of “Suki you should really try sleeping with your cousin” which would distract one or both of us, usually giving a winner. Thankfully, the distractions only worked a few times, shock value wears off, and we were able to resume our practicing. 

The Imperial Tailors brought along our Winterized uniforms, fur covered versions of our regular uniforms. Fur makes everything look cooler. 

The Northern Water Tribe:

The day we came upon the Northern Water Tribe, the sun had risen so far south that we were illuminated by a red backlight, casting long shadows on the Wall. You’d hardly think there was a Siege here but half a year earlier. We moored off the Wall and waited for a signal to dock. The red sun turned the whole wall and the surrounding terrain blood red. 

One catamaran, one, came out to meet us. This ship bore Chief Arnook, and he explained that whatever ships and men he could spare he had sent southwards for the invasion. As the red sun sat low in the sky, he then asked why we were here. Toph proudly joked that she was here to visit the North Pole. He claimed that from the Wall, we appeared to have an infinite number of ships. Toph crossed her arms and laughed, asking if “he dare doubt the numerical strength of the Earth Kingdom”. Guards tensed up. He didn’t push the subject at that time, instead calling for the Wall itself to be cut in two to allow our ship to dock. As we sailed towards the collapsing section of the wall, we were told that there were very few waterbenders left up here. 

After we landed, he invited us to his Royal Palace where we sat and had seal jerky. Without his permission, many of our ships moored off the coast and used rowboats to get ashore. As we sat in the Palace, eating seal jerky and sea prunes, our army was restless. They had not seen land in nearly a month. The North was frigid. Only the Kyoshi Warriors could theoretically escort us all the way North, as Kyoshi Island was a subarctic climate. Toph asked Arnook to supply our men, but he exclaimed that “the Northern Water Tribe barely has enough to feed its own men, let alone your army.” While we were leaving the Royal Palace to march north, Arnook openly insulted Her Imperial Majesty in front of a tired, hungry army. The sun had set again. The city was dotted with lights.

“With an army this large, you could’ve ended the war a century ago!” Toph turned up to face the man from the balcony of his Palace and countered. “And the North sat idly by while we burned, yes?” The soldiers cheered. “Why do you not assist our brothers now as they march on the Fire Nation”. A soldier countered for her, “Her Imperial Majesty bows to no man.” and the crowd cheered. I could _ feel _ the tension growing between the civilians and the tired soldiers. Arnook didn’t give up with his insults. I shuffled Toph away, the Kyoshi Warriors and I flanking her as we started northwards. We got on the Buffalo Yak that Arnook had given us before tensions escalated and rode northwards. We had provisions and equipment. 

Only as I am writing this now, from our first night’s camp, did it hit me. It's the middle of winter. The sun that went down? That might be the last time we see the sun for weeks. And there was nobody in the Northern Water Tribe who could command the rowdy army. Fong could try but he needed Her Imperial Majesty’s authority. And she was currently sleeping in a fur blanket miles north. On the bright side, the North Pole should only be a day’s ride away at full gallop as the Northern continent is much smaller than the Southern Water Tribe. 

I write this from the North Pole. It's actually a forest. The entire ride has been in pitch blackness. Anyone other than the Kyoshi Warriors would’ve frozen to death. I have had to open up my clothes, let Toph slide inside, then close them up again. So now she’s inside my many layers of uniform and gets to remain warm. As Suki yelled out after seeing this “The things you do for love!” and the rest of the girls laughed. 

When we reached the forest, we dismounted and set up our tents. The Kyoshi Warriors weren’t phased by long nights, Kyoshi Island had two month long period where we’d have twilight in place of daytime. Toph was quick to remove her clothes and jump inside my fur blanket. Thankfully, her clothes could now be used as a blanket. She wanted to go to the North Pole? We’ve taken her. She’s the first ruler in recorded history to travel to the North Pole and have a sleepover. I’m putting the paper down. I imagine when I return to bed she will want more than a sleepover. If I have to spend all night sharing my body heat, I will. 

The next day, we mounted up and rode south again. Toph had an extraordinary aura of happiness about her. Akin to a kid who always dreamed of trying a certain food and finally could. The girls could definitely tell -and joke- that it was more than simple teenage satisfaction and that’s all I’m going to say. The trip was exhausting. The cold never lets up. Riding makes you susceptible to the freezing windchill. The spirit forest was comparatively coniferous and warmer than the rest of the continent. And it would be considered frigid for anyone except Kyoshi Islanders, but we were molded by that climate. The rest of the north? Impossible for anyone except Water Tribesmen, but difficult for us Kyoshi Islanders. We were made of colder stuff. We persevered. We joked. Toph stuck inside my jacket and slept most of the time. The rest of us trodden onwards, joking about our childhood. 

Recalling the many stupid dares we made in the middle of winter warmed our spirits, literally, and made the ride much less grueling. Making fun of Suki for convincing all of us to skinny dip in the water. We recalled memories I had forgotten from childhood. Every winter, I could be heard throat singing while standing in the waters of a shallower -it went up to my chest at the time- inlet, wearing nothing at all. The local girls came down and enjoyed the demonstration. These were my cousins, I wasn’t doing it for anything strange, just because we all did stupid stuff like that. I mastered the art of, as Suki said when I turned sixteen, “the ability to sing in a frozen pond while your balls are freezing off”. The best time was when Suki ambushed me while I was leaving, once, and pushed me back into the water. Before I could curse her, she pulled off her wrappings and jumped in next to me. It wasn’t sexual, obviously, just dares. We both sat there, waiting for the other to freeze to death. Eventually Aoma arrived and convinced us both to leave. We were so exhausted we put on each other's clothes by accident. Then fell asleep in the spruce grove. And had to be carried back to a very pissed off Oyaji. Then again, I guarantee he did the same things when he was a kid and that's probably why he never stopped us.

The Burned North:

The night didn’t end. We finally reached the Northern Water Tribe but all the lights of the city were gone. We didn’t know what to make of it. No smell of smoke. General Fong just faintly made out the Kyoshi Warrior makeup while holding a torch. None of us cared to ask what happened. We were too tired. We spent our energy riding south and joking to keep ourselves away. We boarded the Imperial Junk, she punched my shoulder as a thank you for keeping her warm, then ran for her bedroom. She ran in, felt the blanket and moaned “oh, the warmth, the sweet sweet feeling of warmth” before diving onto her bed, peeling off her snow drenched clothes and snuggling under the blanket. Of course I kept her warm, but sleeping under a blanket in a warm room is a massive improvement. Also Toph isn’t supposed to act so ‘girly’ but in that moment, but she broke character in front of Wuhan, Suki and I.

We all changed into off-duty clothes, I wore the same peasant outfit I had worn previously. Our hair was all messed up, tousled by the wind, but we didn’t care. We went to the mess hall and drank till we dropped. As Wuhan said, “you earned it”. Soldiers cheered on our return and Toph, in all her majestic form, dared people to drink offs. And she won a couple. The rest of us enjoyed retelling more childhood stories and "how Oyaji would probably faint if he heard what we did today".

While we were getting hammered, I later learned that an Earth flag was raised over the Royal Palace. The North was officially captured while we slept that night.

Well at least we now have a endless supply of seal jerky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, the Earth Kingdom colonized the Northern Water Tribe. By accident. 
> 
> And Azula didn't forget about the Earth fleet. (Now that's a GoT reference)
> 
> I hope you didn't forget about commenting!  
Side note, thanks for reading along, the hundreds of you that have read this.


	19. The Journey to Caldera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Earth Navy sails south for Caldera!

The following is transcribed from the Personal Journal of Her Imperial Majesty’s Captain of the Guard, Wuhan Zheng. From his Journal entry titled “The Siege of the North”.

That bastard Arnook started cursing us out, but before we could get direct orders, Her Imperial Majesty set off with His Imperial Majesty and His Imperial Majesty’s Consortguard, the Kyoshi Warriors. I’d wager they are better at surviving the frigid north than I am. I ordered the Royal Guards to pull back to the boats but I don’t control the main army. General Fong does. He took Arnook’s insults as a personal offense and ordered the city “be turned to rubble” in the name of Her Imperial Majesty. I yelled for a retreat and my men pulled back to the Imperial Junk. I wasn't going to die leading an assault in the dark.

In his arrogance, Fong forgot one crucial detail about sieging the Poles. Summertime for the South means wintertime in the North. Growing up north of Ba Sing Se taught me this. But the General of the Masses and General of the South wouldn’t know that. He grew up near the equator. The sun set behind the icecaps and hasn’t risen since. I sat atop the Imperial Junk, watching the twilight illuminate what was taking place. 

The thousands of hungry men who landed wouldn’t be satiated until Her Imperial Majesty’s honor was reclaimed. Who was Arnook? A hermit who sat behind his thick ice walls as the rest of us were laid low. Who was he to challenge Her Imperial Majesty’s Mandate? A man with no army and no resources living in a frozen hinterland. 

Fong wasted no time with a strategy. He ordered all men break apart and sack the city. He left, leading a mob of men to assault the Upper City. The near-sunrise, where the sky to the south turned so red that shadows were actually cast, showcased a defensive wall of water spouts, moving forward and backward, being battered by earth. A boulder would fly upwards, be grabbed by the long tentacles of the waterbender, and sent flying back from where it was launched. It was obvious that the waterbenders were hemmed in to the Upper City. As the red transitioned back into twilight, I watched one get knocked out of the sky by relentless battering. 

I received a few reports over this past 'day'. The bridges were all cut not long after the sack began. The causalities are predicted to be in the thousands. We make progress in bodies.

The one thing we have going for us is they have no reserves. Reports suggest that once a water spout is knocked down, there is nothing to replace them. Thus, Fong gave the order to "relentlessly assault in the name of Her Imperial Majesty". Whereas, when one of our men gets killed, we have dozens more ferrying ashore at the docks.

That’s the last ‘day’ of events, now I record in the present. Her Imperial Majesty is still gone. Most of the city lights have dwindled or gone out except the Royal Palace. I’m off to sleep, my guards will wake me if anything happens. The green curtain dances above us.

Jie woke me a few minutes ago. It appears to be nautical twilight. The Royal Palace’s lights have gone out. Apparently Chief Arnook is arriving with terms of surrender. As I predicted, once those couple waterbenders tired, their water spouts ceased and they were quickly mopped up. Arnook's Royal Guards were crushed beneath possibly metaphorical, possibly literal landslides. They were nonbenders, and exhausted. And we were an army of mostly benders, not exhausted.

Fong, himself, found Arnook in the Spirit Oasis, looking down at the pond, praying "to the moon". Some kind of discussion happened, Arnook returned with terms of surrender. In return, our men wouldn't harm whatever women and children were still alive.

This is the end of my entry. We have captured the North Pole and will leave a garrison here. Arnook reigns as puppet Chief. The once bright city has been reduced to rubble. 

HIM Entry XIX:

I’m writing the past few weeks of events, summarized. 

Toph and I awoke, much warmer, and went to get a status report from the commanders. We had already sailed beyond the ice caps, the sun sat low in the southeastern sky. Fong told Toph that Arnook initiated an attack upon the Earth forces. She became furious and demanded what the result was. I put the pieces together at that point - no lights in the city, an attack - but he proudly told her that the Northern Water Tribe was captured. I missed out on the rest of the conversation as I walked off to the front of the bow to look off at a small red speck darting across the sky, eclipsing the low sun.

The Dragon Returns:

I’ve only seen a red speck cross the sky once before. I swung around, running as fast as my legs could carry me, and shouted.

“Dragon Approaching!”

Toph and Fong stopped their discussion to look at me, then Fong yelled out something incomprehensible as I was fixated on this object _ coming right towards us _ . The speck, a serpent coiling itself through the sky, kept the sun behind it.

“Artillery!” 

A horn sounded. More horns sounded. The dragon, which had used the sun for cover, had to dodge right to avoid being struck head on by earth coins. The earth coins wouldn’t fly in a straight line forever, so as long as the rider kept the dragon far enough from the ships, it would never be hit. 

But there was only one dragon in existence. And only one dragon rider.

Azula.

From her perspective, the massive ship was a large burnable target. Her dragon’s wings clipped the ocean as it slendered out and came towards us like an oversized crossbow bolt. The dozens of earth coins missed her. Wuhan was yelling for Toph to jump in one of the rowboats, Toph stated she’d rather stand her ground. 

But the dragonfire never fell upon us. The earth coins got closer and closer to hitting her, and just as we could make out the figure of a teenage girl holding the reins, she turned vertical. _ But Azula would never leave so quietly, _ so she banked the dragon such that it circled above us -we couldn’t fire upon it because we could hit our own ships- and time seemed to stand still. Soldiers dived overboard -probably not that smart- as she moved her hands in a circular manner, producing lightning. She jutted her finger out towards the sea and the clear skies were interrupted by a lightning strike, missing us and hitting one the ocean at our side. _So that's her game_. She descended low and started south towards the sun, missing evermore earth coins. And as quickly as she arrived, she vanished. 

I had to sit down and stare at the sky for an hour out of shock that “she simply arrived and left”. 

Where to go?:

We held a War Meeting aboard the Imperial Junk as nighttime set on again. Fong started the discussion. “She left us because she was scared of our earth coins”. How countered. “No, Fong, she left because she wanted to scare us”. Toph, meanwhile, sat back and relaxed, sipping some tea. “I didn’t see anything, so I have no idea what happened”. 

I proposed an alternative, trying to ‘think like Sokka’. “Maybe she left because she’s got a bigger target elsewhere”. The rest of the table eyed me. Except Toph, still drinking tea. How pressed on the table and got up and looked down at me. “Where-” before he could finish, Toph put down her tea and exclaimed “The Invasion, you idiot!” How turned to her and kowtowed, begging mercy. She laughed it off, making him even more scared. _ I guess these guys never learn, definitely a earthbender trait. Firebenders progress, Airbenders are free, Waterbenders learn, and Earthbenders sit still _. 

Days passed. Toph had a boatload of seal jerky, literally. One of the junks behind us, deemed storage, was full of smoked seal jerky. My mornings usually consisted of waking, dressing in Springtime robes and spending most of the day practicing with my jian. Other times I would search for any news regarding the current invasion. We lost fifty ships worth of crew and left another twenty at the ruined North Pole for garrison. Upon relaying this news to Toph, she became dismayed. “There goes our trade network”. She then proposed that since we were now out of trade partners, we should start the Air Nomads again. That segued into news about Hakoda’s forces stopping over at an island next to Caldera. 

I continued training with Suki and the girls, who practice wearing their off-duty clothes, basic peasant garb, while the soldiers around us shiver from the cold sea winds. We joked about it being too hot while the rest of the boat complained under breath. 

As we sailed further south, the curtain of green lights slowly retreated from dancing above us until it danced along the horizon, eventually vanishing entirely. According to the maps, we passed through a thin channel coming southwards, between the Northwestern Earth Kingdom and the Western Air Temple. I was asleep last time we sailed through. We caught the trade winds that sent us southwards. Two weeks passed. The sun went higher and higher in the sky. The cold winds were replaced by cool mornings and warm afternoons. Soldiers could remove their fur overcoats. 

As warm tropical air hit us, two weeks later, a messenger hawk arrived. I called for a snap meeting and read the message aloud to How, Fong and Toph with Suki and Wuhan listening in.

_ Your Imperial Majesty, _

_ Where are you? We spent a week docked outside this megalith, the Great Gates of Azulon. Where was this in your historical records? In the plans? The massive chain and its defenders cost me many men. The Avatar was finally able to destroy one side of it after collapsing one of the towers with earthbending. We are sitting turtle-ducks here. If we try to sail into the cove we will come under heavy bombardment from Fire Nation artillery. _

_ You told us you’d be a day’s sail behind us but my scouts and the Avatar report the entire Earth Navy as having vanished. Black Sun is arriving in a few days. May the Avatar protect us all. _

_ Chief Hakoda _

Fong and How looked at each other nervously. Toph asked “why their heartbeats were so fast” and both looked to me. I then bowed, apparently this would fall on me. I told Toph that “when Your Imperial Majesty ordered us to turn north, the entire navy followed suit.” I fumbled through trying to explain that nobody could ask her anything and that got me knocked over with an earth pillar. She raised her hand to continue battering me -with earth pillars- for “the stupidity of these men” when Wuhan stepped in and asked that _ maybe _ she should wait until later to beat me up. She relaxed her earthen grip on me and ordered we convene for planning. The soldiers around us kowtowed out of fear as Suki helped me up and we set off for the throne. 

So Toph went to the ship’s throne room while the three of us carried a table in and brought out the maps. She sat back and enjoyed the courtiers serving her tea and lunch while we withdrew figures and tried to set up a war room. I had no idea what I was doing so I just waited as the two generals set everything up. I am writing this from the present. We are discussing a few different options. Sail southwards and try to get to the invasion in time, sail east and return home or sail west and flank the Fire Nation. I’m not a general, my first thought was to simply call off the invasion and pull back. Fong and How disagree over whether to try and land on Caldera from a different direction or to attack the city head on. 

Fong thinks a head on assault would work, “we could easily overwhelm them with numbers.” How thinks we should flank around. “The Fire Nation expects a head on assault but they won’t expect the main landing to be somewhere else”. I have asked if anyone knows the current Fire Navy’s strength. Neither have a clue. Dai Li reports suggest that there’s entire task forces docked in the Colonies. There are no numbers, however. 

We are sending a messenger hawk to Hakoda to ask his status. Fong has sold his assault strategy well, “we won against the Northern Water Tribe” makes for a convincing argument. Convincing to How, that is. As it turns out, we were about a half day’s sail from Caldera, but the thick clouds off ahead of us likely blocked the landmass. We aren’t next to the entrance to Caldera City but near the coastline.

I’m writing this sometime later, How and Fong have ordered the navy sail southwards for the city, Toph never approved this as she was asleep when the final plans were drawn up. I don’t dare ask her if she approves or not. I’m not getting the blame for this one. Naw. The thick fog should pass within the hour.

I’m writing this sometime later, it really didn’t matter what I was thinking at the time as we came under attack.

Broadsides in the Mo Ce Sea:

While I was thinking - worried - that not telling Toph could get us all killed, the Junk shook from an impact. The Kyoshi Warriors -dressed in off-duty clothes- ran in and joined me as we ran topside.

The fog indeed passed, but it concealed an armada of Fire Navy ships. Their trebuchets opened up and rained fireballs on our force. The Earth Navy stretched horizon to horizon. How came out from the main doors and summoned an earth pillar to smash into a fireball that would’ve killed both of us. Its embers and fragments flew in all directions, thankfully missing the masts. He turned to curse the helmsman and order the ship halt. I ran across the deck, dodging a hand casted fireball and grabbed the hornman. “Artillery, get me the fucking artillery!” I shook the man, dropped him and grabbed the horn myself. With a disappointing _ tooooot _, the ships opened up. The Fire Navy was coming at us in a sort of arrowhead formation. The front ship had three ships behind it. One to its back right, one to its back left, one directly behind it. Each of those ships had a ship behind it in the same direction, onwards and onwards. Right behind right, center behind center, left behind left. 

The Imperial Junk dropped anchor and came to a stop. Our right flank tried to use the winds to swing over to attack the enemy front on, our left flank halted and tried to turn to open up with broadsides. Every junk had multiple positions to fire from, most of them on the sides of the ship. Toph finally emerged, half dressed, hair in a mess, asking what was happening. A soldier bowed to her and explained the situation. She turned and found How, summoning earth projectiles from the sea itself to then pull up and fire at the enemy trebuchets. She grabbed him, causing his large earth coin to fall back into the sea. She asked where we were, he explained that we were close to the landmass. She then screamed out “let’s just sail there then!” How kowtowed, then stood up and yelled for “All ships, advance full!” Horns sounded, signals were flown. The anchor was raised, the sails were dropped, the engine began chugging again, and we set off. Toph turned around and stated she was going to the bridge. The left flank, obviously, couldn’t just sail forwards. The winds were coming out of the east. How called over to me, still watching the Fire Navy crossing the left flank, and informed me that the left flank wants verification of orders. “They want to know if “advance full” applies to them or not, Your Imperial Majesty”. I had no idea how to respond. All logic dictates they hold their position and try to batter the Fire Navy. I told him I _ think _ it’d be smarter if they held their position, but he wasn't listening to me. He had the signals raised, _ all forward _. We were crossing the front of the Fire Navy’s spearpoint, filling the front ship with earth disks, as the ships on the left flank opened their sails and went forwards. 

It was a slaughter. Off our flank, slowly disappearing behind us, the ships were attempting to squeeze between the enemy cruisers. Junks were combusted from crossfire. Others came up alongside Fire Navy ships and boarded them. The front ship of the Fire Navy listed, the trebuchet getting off one more volley before snapping off and falling into the depths. Ships behind it turned to face the junks head on. Some Fire Navy ships stopped moving, likely captured by our valorous boarding parties. Others used their icebreakers to pile into junks. In some cases, the ship would lower it’s bow once it impacted a junk, likely for boarding. Other times, the chimneys puffed a continuous stream of black, the ship literally sawing the wood in half. The metal chopped the wood. When one junk was filling with water, the ship pierced itself with earth. It doing so, it caught the icebreaker bow and dragged the Fire Navy ship down with it.

I called for someone to get Toph, but the soldiers were all firing projectiles. So I did it myself. I kicked open doors and made for the bridge. Suki gave chase. Toph was in the bridge, talking to the helmsman. I yelled “fuck the formalities” and yelled out “Toph!” She swung around, a smirk turning into an annoyed scowl, and I told her that the left flank was falling. She, logically, claimed that she didn’t order the ships to “ram themselves into the Fire Navy”, but I told her that they were still doing it. She asked who caused this, I said it was How, and she rode a low earth wave out of the room, knocking us non-benders over while her cape fell to the side.

In front of us, stretching off to our right, the coastline of the Fire Nation’s capital island. Far off, out of artillery range, to our left, a line of Fire Navy ships, possibly trying to head us off. 

I am writing this from the bridge, an hour later. The Fire Navy ships have successfully headed us off and the front ones have disappeared behind the sharp coastal walls. The mouth of the cove that leads to Caldera. According to Suki, the junks on our right flank have sailed over to our left flank, forming a large half-arrowhead. She says the black plumes of the battle are still visible behind us.

In a few minutes, we should reach Caldera’s mouth. 

Black Sun is in a few hours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day of Black Sun is next. Lots of booms ensue.


	20. The Day of Black Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Day of Black Sun has arrived.
> 
> There's lots of dark humor in this one.

HIM Entry XX:

I hate it when I get blown off a boat.

Boom Boom Man:

So I was standing on the starboard side, top deck. Suki and I were watching the cliffs. We both were in off-duty garb as it was nearing lunchtime. The mouth of Caldera was coming into view. At the very last moment, Suki spotted a “man of metal” standing on the edge of one of the cliffs, his “tall, steel body” contrasting with the lush greens. None of us knew who he was, but we found out quite fast. 

He thrusted his body forwards.

And the topside of the ship exploded. 

I don’t know what happened next, but the next time I woke up, Suki was blocking the sun with her head, pressing on my chest. I barely muttered a “where are we” when she placed a finger on my mouth to silence me. 

Around us, some kind of grassland. She helped me up and slung one of my arms over her shoulder. “I don’t need it Sukes”, “oh shush, I’m your bodyguard, I guard your body”. I let out a slight chuckle. I walked, er, she helped carry me, to a house with a porch facing a cliffside. A well was nearby. The land around us was green, healthy, grass. It could give the Agrarian Zone a run for its money. Koalasheep roamed in a small herd nearby, braying. She immediately jumped into the house to check for anyone, but after stumbling over and breaking half the pottery by accident, she reported that “its empty”. 

The porch had two rocking chairs on it. Suki sat down next to me and recounted from her quick scouting trip. “The doors work, there’s curtains on the windows and the bedroom has clothing, someone probably uses this place as a summer home”. I asked Suki if there was a map inside, she turned around and ran in. A gravel path ran from this house over the low rolling ridge, disappearing behind it.  


Suki came out wielding a dagger with a scabbard and an old jian with a simple leather scabbard. We discussed our provisions. None. Weapons. One for each of us. Clothes. Not much variety. We agreed to change to hide our identity. “Hey Sukes, do you have...a bush shaped like a fan?” Suki shot me an  _ I'm-going-to-kill-you-if-you-tell-anyone _ glance. “Yes, what do you have something against that?” I threw up my hands, dropping the pants I was halfway through putting on. “No...maybe? Don’t you think it’s overkill?” Suki took her pants and attempted to whip me. “You’re one to talk, last time I checked you didn’t even possess any hair” and Suki began laughing. _Nothing like hair jokes to calm the nerves_. We put on our clothes, I took a piece of cloth and wrapped it around my eye, and we talked about the dagger and its functions. 

The Siege of Caldera:

Our discussion on weapons was interrupted by loud booms. We both ran to the top of the low ridge and looked over. Caldera City sat off to our right in the distance, the Great Gates of Azulon was a stone’s throw from us. The booms were coming from the artillery pieces firing. Blue sails, a mass of them, sailing towards the docks, under heavy artillery fire. One ship in the crowd stood out. A Fire Nation cruiser, painted white. It's trebuchet was also firing. From here, the figures on the various cutters were barely ants. “Suki, let's get down there and join them!” I yelled and began running, hand on hilt. Suki tackled me from began, we rolled backwards down the hill back towards the house. “You can’t just run there with a sword in hand. The sentinels will see us coming. Want to join in? Let’s sneak over”. _Oh Suki, always the ninja approach._

We walked along the low ridge on the plateau side. Off in front of us, the low drafted cutters crashed ashore, the last of the Fire Navy Home Fleet sinking while docked, the ant-sized figures jumping off. From here, I could just make out the men becoming small mobs, likely bringing their shields into a lion turtle formation. The small blobs of blue advanced towards a series of towers. The defenders appeared to be very inexperienced. Their fire blasts missed most of the time. A trebuchet projectile smashed into one blob of blue, spreading the blue apart like ink that hasn’t dried. _Which makes sense, what do you think is going to happen when you assault a heavily fortified position with just infantry?  
_

We reached the Gates of Azulon. The tall Fire Lord, flanked by two dragon mouth towers, was probably a mortifying sight to the sailors. Massive chains crossing the mouth of the approach, lit on fire. But the left chain was knocked down. Suki and I had to stay low, trying to reduce our visible profile. We were nearly knocked off our feet by a massive gust of wind. Diving for the ground, we looked forward and saw it was Appa. Suki and I exchanged a quick glance, and I pulled off my shirt and waved it in the desperate hope that one of the three riding it noticed. I turned around to face the mouth of the cove and realized that the Fire Navy had set up a half-circle. But the northernmost ships were being battered.  _ The Earth Navy _ . I turned back and held my shirt out, waiting for the bison to turn around. He didn’t. The six-legged creature morphed into a small white cloud, flying low over the beachhead. The defenders focused fire on the bison, the fire blasts ceased battering the ships, allowing the blue blobs to separate and turn into a massive wave of blue overwhelming the thin red line. The bison landed on the White Lotus ship for a minute, two red figures boarded it, then it took off. 

Everytime we needed to stop to catch our breath we'd look around at what was happening. Each sentence is one interval. The blue mass became a blue column, advancing down the center road. Loud booms behind us signified the Earth Navy was breaking the blockade. We continued running along the ridgeline. Caldera City came more into view now. Beneath us, waves of Fire Nation...Domestic Forces, I guess, armed poorly… were running towards the beachhead, trying to envelope the blue wave. We reached the beachhead, or rather, the cliff looming over it. Blue figures crashed into red ones, some men were set alight and dived into the water. A group of blue figures formed a spear wall, interlocking shields and advancing slowly towards the oncoming militia. The militia ran right into the wall and were massacred. A man at the back of the spearwall raised his club and the shields broke apart, the mass becoming individuals, the individuals crashing like a wave into the wavering militia and cutting them down. 

I was so fixated on this that I didn’t notice the sky bison attracting flames from many guard posts along the main road. Suki informed me of all these events. The bison circled around and flew alongside one side’s towers. I don’t know exactly what happened, but the right side’s towers ceased firing, so whatever they did worked. “You think the Avatar platituded them to death?” Suki called out from behind me, both of us broke into laughter. Appa landed in front of the blue tidal wave and Aang unleashed waves of wind, likely from swinging his staff, sending the barely trained soldiers charging him flying backwards. The blue wave overtook the bison and after one of the scorpions appeared to have landed a direct hit on a nearby soldier, the bison lifted off and flew up against the towers. It was barely comprehensible, but I believe Katara was freezing the scorpions then snapping them off sometimes, other times Sokka was cutting them off with his sword. 

We ran onwards, now directly overlooking the lower city. Bodies of Water Tribesmen and Fire Nation Home Guard were strewn about. The band that smashed the militia charge was busy mopping up, driving their spears into wounded militiamen. I don’t think the Avatar would’ve approved that but he was busy flanking a defensive line in front of the volcano. The blue mass was now dozens of individual figures. Hakoda was likely at the front of the lines, just as he was at the demonstration. From above, they merged into a kind of flying wedge. They didn’t interlock shields like the demonstration, but they brought them close enough that fire blasts were rent useless. The militia, on the other hand, was actually a mob of men and women. A few lucky shots to the legs or the head could take one Tribesman down but most of the force appeared to be non-benders. They didn’t stand a chance. At one point, the Avatar jumped over and appeared to have halted one soldier from finishing off a prisoner. Watching this, I broke into laughter. “What’s the-” I cut Suki off. “I love when a pacifist is named the commanding general of an invasion and ‘directly’ commands the guys who've been fighting for a decade”. Suki continued watching this scene “I guess history will say he led an army of pacifists proselytizing peace?” she cackled.  _ Yup _ . After the Avatar left, the man jutted his spear into the downed soldier. _I guess pacifism isn't so effective when you're leading a army of people with vendettas_.  


The blue wave reached the approach to the volcano as the sky darkened. Like the shadow of nighttime itself, the eclipse’s arrival was slow. The Fire Navy was the first to suffer. The ships were sliced apart by junks, the vanguard ones now turning in towards the cove. Then the beaches, then the avenues, sending any defenders scurrying away. From up here, we could trace, with a finger, as the moon fully came overhead. The firebenders only lost their bending during the full eclipse. If the sun was even slightly exposed, visible by the ground being slightly lighter, the firebenders could still bend. 

The city erupted in cheers as the sky blackened. This wasn’t the civilians, but the husky sailors and marines. No, the firebenders turned and ran. The Tribesman spread out from the avenue, chasing down any routing men they could. We were just about to descend to the city when the serpent returned. The bison had flown into the Royal Palace’s grounds, the doors burst open with airbending as a serpent whipped over our heads, sending Suki and I diving for cover behind a crashed or left behind cart. Suki, quietly, exclaimed that “she can’t bend”. I watched the red serpent fly down the main avenue, sending the same cocky Tribesmen diving for cover. “She’s stalling,” I said, scratching my chin. We could only watch on in horror as the serpent flew low over the blue tide, sending the individuals running in all directions, before snap turning and flying to the Royal Palace. The blue individuals busted down doors and ran into whatever shops they could find.   


I don’t know what happened in that Palace. Now that the serpent was gone, we got up and took a path that slowly snaked its way down to the city proper. The Water Tribesmen had spread out across the city, the first of the Earth Junks were passing through the Great Gates and we were reaching the city itself. The dragon launched upwards and circled the Royal Palace. Suki yelled for us to get down, so we climbed up to the flat topped roof of a nearby building and got down. It was some noble’s house, the roof decorated with gold etchings of dragons and a tapestry, along with a stand for archery practice. I traced my finger across the cliffs on the opposite side of the city as the full eclipse ended. Darkness gave way to twilight. I whispered over to Suki “Do we carry on?” Suki shook her head, “wait here, we look like Fire Nation peasants”. I nodded my head and continued watching. Fire blasts launched into the sky around us. The dragon turned towards these blasts, almost glancing to verify they were actually happening, then dived back towards the Palace. The darkness gave way to a small amount of light.

And lightning cracked.

The entire city seemed to turn and face the booming crack. The two of us conversed in whispers while glancing from the rooftop. “Well, Sukes, you think the pacifist met his match?” She raised an eyebrow. “What do you define as ‘his match?’” I spoke as if I was giving a lecture on something I’m definitely an authority on. “An actual genocidal maniac and not some conscript who surrendered peacefully.” Suki tapped her chin. “I’m going with...yes. But you forget that he will treat the genocidal maniac like someone who surrendered peacefully”. I raised my right hand and pointed off in the direction of the Palace. “Yea, your right. I hope that doesn’t come back to bite him”. 

Lightning boomed, turning the sky bright white.

“Great timing,” she said, crossing her arms, looking mighty smug.

Below us, Tribesmen were being assaulted by some kind of reserve force hiding in the city, having poured out of...underground barracks? They were mostly Imperial Firebenders with regular units of Firebenders mixed in. They cut the Tribesmen running through the side streets into pockets before pouring out onto the main avenue. Hakoda’s force, currently ascending the volcano, formed a lion-turtle formation, suddenly under assault from below and above. We were so close to the ascent, having descended in the Upper City’s area, I could clearly make out his navy blue helmet as he waved a spear around, men running in either direction. 

The bison took off from the Royal Palace grounds, barely making it over the rim before landing inside Hakoda’s detachment. His men planted their shields in the ground and formed two...walls of defenders. One facing upwards, one facing downwards. The lines packed in, a sole bannerman, hornman and Hakoda in the middle. Beneath the ascent, a group of Tribesmen formed a circle formation, being assaulted from all sides. 

“Suki, where’s Aang?” I asked her as we watched Sokka holding the reins. She shook her head. He was...down? Knocked out? I don’t know what they said. Katara was holding him tightly, doing something with water that glowed a whitish blue. “Let’s get over there” I stated, before climbing down from the rooftop. Suki beat me to the bottom - _ the ninja- _ “I’m glad I am your bodyguard” she stated sarcastically, arms on hips, before leading the way.

We tried to run through side streets, we took a minute, leaping low fences and bursting through back alleys, before we made it to a main road but not  _ the _ main road. It was wide enough we could see the ascent. Hakoda was gesturing roughly in the direction of the main avenue. Katara looked like she was crying. Aang was moving his hand, or something. It didn’t matter. A loud, deafening screech pierced the sky. Azula and her dragon flew over the rim, circling Appa and Hakoda’s men. The lot of them looked upwards in shock. The eclipse ending allowed her to use the dragon’s immense side to eclipse them herself. We stopped running when we were a couple houses from the ascent. “Suki. I’ve seen that circling before” I cried out, diving for the middle of the road. Azula flew away, but I knew what she was going to do. “Lightning!” Suki screamed. Hakoda and his kids looked our way. I don't now if they noticed us, but the cry definitely alerted them. Azula descended down to practically skim the rooftops. She let go of the reins, moved her hands in a circular manner and pointed her finger towards the bison. It missed -due to metal- and hit one of the nearby towers instead. “Nice shot Azula” I said. We couldn't laugh at the moment. Appa roared, but Azula landed her dragon instead. This time, there was a second rider on it. “Suki. Is that?”. “Yes, its Zuko.”. Neither of us were surprised, I mean Iroh was the White Lotus guy and as I said before, Zuko was never my responsibility. 

Azula stood below the group of soldiers, her dragon roaring behind her. And she bowed. “Oh, Azula is so courtly, don’t you think” I jabbed Suki in the side, forgetting this is a warzone and we should probably be running for the hills right now. She took a second to comprehend my joke and laughed. Sokka took Appa’s reins while Katara held a wounded Aang and they lifted off. Azula spun on her heel, “all that Academy practice paying off” and shouted something to Zuko. He lifted off with the dragon, named Druk -one of the only things I could hear in the shouty exchange- and went out of sight. Hakoda’s battalion was being pressed up against the cliff itself, men being slowly picked off by lucky shots. 

We spent the next ten minutes running southwards, trying to find an unlocked building. Lightning cracked behind us,  _ Azula _ . Off on the main road, Tribesmen either surrendered or went down with a fight. Some didn’t seem to care they were charging five well-trained benders with just a spear and shield. The ones that surrendered weren’t killed, they simply dropped their weapons and were rounded up. On side streets, soldiers were cleaning up the mess. I peeked my head out of an alleyway onto the main avenue. Hakoda’s men appeared to be charging down from the descent, trying to break through.

We eventually reached the beachhead where a large number of Tribesmen were gathered. By gathered, I mean that some were trying to cast off. Others were formed into a defensive wall. Wrecked Fire Navy ships were blocking the main docks, the only way out was the beachhead. Some Tribesmen took flags and were trying to communicate with the ships off by the Great Gates. The Earth Navy. The lead junks weren’t sailing inwards. We jumped inside a fishing shop along the wharfs, the previous tenants likely ran away when the siege began. We hid next to the shop counter, giving ourselves as many paths of exit as possible. A man kicked open the door, but his figure was shrouded. The two of us, cowering, were quite visible. I spoke up first. “We were in the battle off by the Great Gates. Our ship was destroyed and we came ashore.” The man gripped his spear tightly. “Who did you fight for”. Our heartbeats raced. Suki spoke up. 

“He who rightfully sits upon the Dragon Throne, Fire Lord Ozai”. 

The spearman smiled. “Very good. Let’s get you out of here”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will the Water Tribesmen escape? 
> 
> Next chapter, Dunkerque!
> 
> Also, 350 hits? How, I...wha... *explodes*. I'm surpriseed that a fic that isn't shippings, a porno or a fic dealing with abused Zuko has this many hits. And there's lots and lots of great writers out there. Normally I'm joking about the commenting, but I'm serious here. What do you see in this that you like? This was originally a passion project based on my love of history and the fact THREE HUNDRED people have seen this? It's amazing. Thank you. Thank you all.


	21. The Evacuation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The duo must flee now that the eclipse has ended. Will anyone make it out of this entrapment? 
> 
> The Battle of Dunkerque was a big inspiration for this chapter. (I know people write it as 'Dunkirk' but I follow the French spelling).

HIM Entry XXI:

Thanks for that save, Suki. Twice.

The Attempted Evacuation:

The men the spearman called over grouped up on him and ran off towards the screaming. While exiting our hiding spot, Suki called out “Here’s an idea, Your Majesty, let’s  _ not _ go towards the screaming”. I nodded. Suki and I left and began making our way down the beachhead towards the Great Gates. We passed the docks, ships that were half-sunk, sitting in the sandy seabed. Some were stuck in a permanent list. Others seemed to topple over onto the sand. In total, the docks were rent useless. The right flank was devoid of soldiers, making our flight much easier. The cliffs didn’t properly showcase the thinness of the flanks. Whereas there’s a wide beach at the center, on either side of the city’s approach, the beaches are but a few feet wide with only another couple few feet of dirt, all sitting beneath tall cliffs. Unless you are standing on them, you’d think the cliffs dropped off at the cove. This was probably why nobody landed here. Off to our side, the Water Navy was only able to cast off a couple ships, with soldiers pushing eachother off the ships to escape. We could hear them cry from here "Where's that damn kid to save us?" and cursing the Avatar as a "coward". 

Hundreds of Water Tribesmen were swimming off towards the Great Gates. They were expert swimmers, after all. I'd wager most of the retreating forces swam away, assuming there's be a rescue fleet past the Gates.

The firebenders were tightening the noose, pressing the spearwall into a smaller and smaller half-circle. The Water Tribe has no means to counterattack, they could only hold for so long. Many of those men know that they won't escape. It's obvious by their panicked expressions. I watched the center of the line break, with sailors grabbing whatever they could find, oars, boathooks, broken spears, and try to push the Imperial Firebenders back.  


Suki and I reached a tiny dock, large enough to fit a small sailboat. Instead, we found a rowboat, facing the cliffs. Inside, three pairs of oars, and a Fire Nation flag, supposed to be fitted to the front of the rowboat where a small flagpole sat. We left a pair of oars on the dock and I pulled the rope off, untying the boat, and tossed the rope in. Due to the lack of a strong tide, we had to push off by sticking the oars into the sand and pushing, sending us backwards enough to allow Suki to begin rowing from the back. “Time to sail across the ocean, right,  _ Captain? _ ” Suki asked. “I’m not a captain” I scowled. “Now you are, lead on!” Suki pulled her oars in and lied back, putting her feet on the seat in front of her while putting her hands behind her head. I slapped myself thinking  _ this’ll be fun _ . _In reality, I imagine she wanted us to alternate with rowing_.  


And now we were rowing. It wasn’t like we had to fight a tide or anything, meaning our departure wasn’t going to be an uphill battle. As we rowed away from the shore, Suki sat up to watch the battle going on. 

A different sounding horn blared, a sizeable number of Tribesmen broke through the Firebenders. Cheers erupted from the masses. One of them, the man leading the charge, was Hakoda. He attacked three Imperial Firebenders at once, knocking one down with his spear, impaling the other and after blocking a strike, pulled out his dagger and shoved it into the third. Suki had this to say. “So these guys are fighting for the pacifist’s side, right?” I nodded. Then we gave it a second to watch Hakoda tackle a firebender and bury his dagger in the man. “Okay, Suki, ten copper that he kills the next guy with a knife”. She punched my shoulder, “no, twenty copper it's a spear”. “Game on, Suki, game on”. Indeed, Hakoda was running along the right flank, spear in hand, and tossed it like a javelin into a militiaman, going right through his neck. “You win” I’m glad she couldn’t see my scowl. I could hear her laughing, though.

Lines of Water Tribesmen interlocked shields, forming a tight, near impervious formation. _The Water Tribe rearguard won't be forgotten_. 

I didn’t have time to give her the money, Tribesmen off to our side were yelling. Turns out we were about to back into a cutter. Suki turned, tried to stand up but fell over due to the wake, and shouted at them. “That’s the Imperial Consort! Halt your fire, damn you!” I pulled the oars in, grabbed the hard wooden seat, spun around and waved at them with one hand while pointing at my missing eye with another. _Where's that damn eyepatch I had. Where is it?_ Some man with a wolf pelt for a cape eyed me and shouted for his men to sail closer and kill us, thinking we were Fire Nation soldiers. Suki grabbed the oars and we turned away, our rowboat was much more agile, afterall. The cutter tried to turn after us, but was directly hit by a fireball. Suki and I looked towards the coast. The towers were operational again. They began firing on the ships as opposed to the rearguard. Further out from the beachhead, a string of cutters were sailing away from the coast. The Earth Navy was gone. _I guess someone told Toph what was happening here and she ordered a full retreat?_  


The crew dived overboard. We sailed around them and neared the Great Gates. No tide meant fast rowing. The sky roared above. Appa flew in from the right side, again, diving down from the cliff and flying along the water. I took off my shirt again and waved it at the oncoming trio. Possibly due to Azulon’s statue blocking us, they ignored us and Appa landed by the sinking cutter, splashing the survivors with water. Suki asked why they came back. I shrugged, since I had no idea. We both found out very quickly. A different beast roared. The entire city likely turned towards the source. Druk was flying low over the city again, his wings spanning a city block. I dived off the boat and ran up the small sandbar, lying low halfway between the water and Azulon's statue, yelling to Suki "lightning! She's got fucking lightning! Get ashore!" Suki joined me.  


Suki and I watched the beachhead erupt in flames. A second earlier, lines of Tribesmen defending ships trying to escape. A second later, the lines were gone, the ships burned. Some blue dots were running into the water, trying to escape the burning beach. Druk didn’t stop, flying over the chain of fleeing ships, like brown beads on a string, burning each as he passed. They couldn’t counter him. A few blue dots were coming ashore on the hidden right beach, however. Hakoda was probably one of them as he was far from the main mass of soldiers when they were burned. 

Druk flew up to Appa and hovered, his wings creating immense shadows with each flap. The rider was now visible, Azula.  _ Not again. Don’t you have to have lunch at some point? _ Katara was likely raging at the cooking of her fellow Southerners. The sailors that were tossed overboard had already boarded Appa. Suki and I landed at the feet of Azulon’s statue and got off the rowboat, instead standing on the beach. In a feat of waterbending neither of us have ever seen, she seemed to pull the sea itself up in a massive spike, trying to pierce Druk. “He’s a dragon, he can just move, you dummy” Suki called out, like some kind of dueling coach. The water turned to ice, but Druk just moved over a few feet and ignored the ice spike.  _ Damnit _ . Katara furiously waved her hands around and successfully grabbed Druk -with a giant ice hand- as he was hovering. From here, we could see Azula laughing at this. She burned the ice hand off and flew upwards even further. Her face turned to a scowl, she moved her hands in a circle, and shot the sea itself with lightning.  


"All those blue dots, Suki-" she cut me off. Probably for the better. In one fell swoop, most of the Southern Water Tribe's military was eliminated. 

Because the world itself seems to rotate around us, or rather because we were in the middle of a warzone, Druk flew over Appa and landed next to us, at the statue base. The beach was wide enough that we weren’t crushed. We bowed. Azula looked towards the two of us. “Crown Princess Azula, what an honor to be in your presence!” I called out, praying that diplomacy would save my skin yet again. “You, auburn. Distinctive voice, where do I remember you from?” Azula’s scowl transformed into a confident smile as she watched the two of us while Druk breathed fire at  _ something _ . I was about to give my response when Druk was hit with a wave from the side, banging him on the head, causing him to shake. Azula maintained her composure, facing the attacking waterbender and yelling -confidently- “oh, how rude!” before blasting the oncoming waves with flames. Druk, meanwhile, breathed fire at Appa while Aang vortexed it into the sky, making for an entertaining lightshow, probably. The two of us were busy being terrified and ducked for ground. Katara, meanwhile, continued trying to blast Azula. The soldiers on the bison were cheering. Azula gave me one last glance, pointing her finger at me, squinting and smiling, before snapping Druk’s reins and lifting off again. Appa flew upwards, and the titans dueled in the air. We got up and pushed the boat back into the water. As we got back in, Druk seemed to break off from his pursuit of the white dot -at this point- and landed in the city somewhere. Meanwhile, a different red dot, some kind of slow moving circular object, followed the white dot as it fled behind the western horizon.   


“So what was that about?” Suki shot me a questioning glance. "It's a long story." She sensed that I didn't want to speak about it, so she avoided the subject. We rowed past Azulon’s statue. The further we got from the coast, the more we saw the city itself burning. Azula, being Azula, cared not for her own city. The beach area, all the wharfs, the wooden docks, were ash. As the city was built for firebenders, there wasn’t much inland to burn. The many cutters that were ferrying back and forth in the water were all sinking or sunk. No blue dots moved. _The entire force_. Instead, they bobbed about the water like dark blue beads on a greenish quilt.  


Out at sea, the remains of a naval battle. A semi-circle of destroyed metal ships. As we finally reached the mouth of the cove, I asked Suki why our navy vanished. She shook her head. I asked her what happened to me, at that point, hours earlier. “We were blown off the ship by some man standing on the cliffside. You were knocked out, but I was conscious enough to grab you and swim to shore. I had to grab you before the ship dragged us under. The entire Earth Navy returned fire on the man, completely destroying the above cliffside. The Fire Navy arrived shortly after, engaging the sinking Imperial Junk and trying to smash the rest of the fleet. Once we got to the top of the cliff you woke up.”

Sure enough, looking to the left, many Earth junks were all -save the masts- sunk into the tropical seas. The Fire Navy also sustained heavy losses, leaving a trail of destroyed ships that extends all the way into the docks of Caldera City. Flotsam and jetsam lined the waves. From small pieces of wood to entire masts having snapped off. Blackened wood, twisted by flames. Entire pieces of decks bobbed in the tides. We almost rammed a sunken Fire Navy ship, just the bridge poking out of the depths. No survivors were around. And, amidst all this wreckage, the massive Imperial Junk, too, sunk. Granted, it's so large that most of the top decks were still above water, but the masts were gone. The golden Badgermole prow watched us as it clutched a earth coin.  


Our rowing was once again interrupted, as I said to Suki at the time, “can’t they leave us alone,” by a Fire Navy cruiser coming out of Caldera City. I took off my shirt and waved it, and the ship came alongside and dropped a rope. 

Stowaways:

When we climbed aboard, we claimed to be two members of the Home Guard who got on a Navy boat to assist in the defensive operations. “Our ship was sunk during the eclipse, we ended up on the shore, and we grabbed a rowboat and came back out to sea to look for survivors”. The man bought the excuse, and took us to the commander of the ship. A man named Jee. The moderately sized man stood with his arms behind his back atop the bridge, talking to the Helmsman.

The guard introduced us as “irregulars”. I bowed, Suki copied my bow, and Jee turned around to speak to us. His face was pale and unlike most Fire Nation officers, he had a two pointed beard, the chin section completely shaved. He formally welcomed us aboard his cruiser, which just happened to be going eastwards. I asked him what his orders were, he explained that “My orders were to reinforce Caldera’s defense but we arrived late due to rough weather. We missed the entire offensive, as by the time we turned in to the Great Gates, we received new orders to turn around and sail east for redeployment.” 

Jee asked who we were. I spoke for both of us, “Captain, we are two Colonials who happened to be in the Capital at the time of the attack. We both grew up at sea, and as a result, we volunteered to join the Navy’s defense outside the Great Gates.” He nodded, and asked if we’d like to get off at the next island or follow his ship to the Colonies. He argued that we could end up anywhere in the Colonies as per his orders, whereas if we get off at an island we could take a ferry east to our destination. Suki spoke up and stated “we’d have to discuss”. He joked something about “hoping this one-eyed teen doesn’t end up his superior like the last one-eyed teen aboard his ship” but I didn’t hear the full joke. A soldier brought us to our quarters. We took it as an opportunity to get some shut-eye.

Suki woke up first, tugging my blanket off and stating “did I lose my mind or is there a band currently practicing?” I yawned, rolled off my bed, and involuntarily called out “Ming, you there? It's not dawn yet is it?” Suki slapped me and I regained consciousness. We departed our bedroom, walked up the pretty-well-lit-all-things-considered hallway, following the echoes of a...pipa? We eventually found ourselves topside, a band of men and women sitting around a fire. I asked one of the onlookers, the helmsman from earlier, what was going on. Turns out, he was half drunk. “Its music night, my friend! Grab some whiskey and grab an instrument!” Behind Jee, currently fixated on playing the pipa while a man next to him played some kind of bongo, a carton containing bottles of fire whiskey.  


Jee sang a melody, one that Iroh always hummed, called “Four Seasons, Four Loves" by Iroh. I couldn't help but shed a tear upon hearing the name of the legendary strategist, fighter and teamaker.    


"Winter, Spring. Summer and fall/Winter, Spring. Summer and fall. Four seasons, four loves/Four seasons, four loves" 

The rest of the crew joined in, singing along.  


"To Victory" a man shouted. The rest chanted it. _Now would be a good time for one of those, yeah_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Water conducts lightning. Of course Azula would do that.
> 
> The end of Book One (haven't figured out a name for it, suggestions are appreciated)
> 
> Book Two (now until Sozin's Comet) begins next chapter.


	22. The Legend of the One-Eyed Badgermole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Join Wuhan as he recounts the actions of Queen Toph and join the Consort as he tries to make himself look really cool while not revealing his identity.

The following is transcribed from the Campaign Journal of Her Imperial Majesty’s Captain of the Guard, Wuhan Zheng, titled “The Day of Black Sun”:

We were on our way to assist in the Siege of the Fire Nation Capital when we came under attack by some kind of advanced firebender. I believe the Records call these rare individuals Combustionbenders. I was standing outside the door of Her Imperial Majesty’s Imperial Quarters when we were hit. Immediately, the Guards and I ran in to protect her. The ship started listing. General How ran downstairs and kicked open the door to inform Her Imperial Majesty that the mysterious figure has fled. "In addition, we were now missing most of the deck." A soldier informed us that a junk had sailed up alongside the ship to help with evaculation. The Queen summoned an earth fist and -after a few tries- punched through the wall of her quarters. The junk was slightly below us. The earth fist fell off, she shook her hands, and proudly stated “Toph, you rule!” before cracking her knuckles again. Earth soldiers on the lower junk earthbent a rope -it's weights were large earth coins, allowing the soldiers to move it with earthbending- up to the hole in the wall. But Her Imperial Majesty didn’t leave. She told us to get off ship, and that she would “go save the Junk”. The Royal Guards obliged, but I stuck around. 

I followed her as she ran topside and began  _ earthbending the seabed _ to try and counter the list. She yelled at courtiers to get overboard. Nobody knew where the Imperial Consort was, it was assumed that he likely jumped from the ship when the deck was first hit. As he has been rumored to be a good swimmer, he could survive in this passive sea. The ship was sinking beneath us. I kept begging Her Imperial Majesty to leave, but she didn’t. I was fixated on the naval battle happening ahead of us. Soldiers and staff were running all around us. More earthen ropes were launched onto the ship. The crews of the junk around us were fixated with watching Her Imperial Majesty’s struggle. She held her hands out and were slowly raising them. Then, with one hand, she made a finger-stabbing-sky gesture. The crews listened in awe at the sound of stone piercing wood. Then she made the gesture again. And again. And again. She turned her hands palms-up and the ship’s list ended. She turned to me and punched the air, shouting “I am the greatest earthbender of all time. Muahahahahaha!” The ship crews cheered, punching the air with her. They began chanting. “Long Live the Earth Queen!”. 

She then made her own walkway over to one of the junks, no assistance needed. Everyone kowtowed. I, along with the Royal Guards, went downstairs and found the Imperial Quarters untouched by water. We grabbed everything that wasn’t attached to the ground and carried it out, using earth walkways. All her clothes -there’s only a couple outfits-, the Imperial Consort’s clothes -there’s also only a couple outfits-, his Records, and his ornate jian scabbard and blade.

Her Imperial Majesty voiced that “she wasn’t worried about the Consort”. Despite this, no soldiers or sailor has spotted the distinctive auburn haired Kyoshian. Ahead of us, the Fire Navy was engaging in broadsides with our junks. Our fleet seemed to be winning, the age old tactic of overwhelming them with numbers was paying off again. A Fire Navy ship might be able to launch three fireballs, but the water depth is low enough that well trained earthbenders could send spikes into the ship. Sure, three fireballs might kill a few men, but can they counter twenty pillars? I’m not going to lie, we probably lost thirty ships to try and take down ten of theirs. It was grueling. Due to the semi-circle formation, once we broke their northern side, our junks could take the rest of the fleet from two sides, smashing them in between. There was nothing their forces could do to counter us. We had the seabed and ammunition. We had men. Then the sky darkened.

One line of junks turned inwards and disappeared behind the mouth of Caldera. The moon eclipsed the sun. Many soldiers got on their knees and began praying. The High Priest -where was he for the past month?- arrived and asked Her Imperial Majesty if she'd like to join the men in prayer, "Naw". The booms intensified. The Fire Navy was rolled up. Our ship, now with Imperial Sigil sails, reached the mouth of the harbor. Inwards, the Great Gates of Azulon. Azulon himself loomed over us. The left chain was knocked down. We peered through the chain at the siege. I fell back in awe. 

Ba Sing Se may be an endless expanse with sky high walls, but Caldera was scary. “Somewhere inside that city, the Fire Lord sits on his Dragon Throne”. A volcano sat behind the rest of the city. Red roofs sat atop buildings made of white walls. Fire Nation flags dotted the skyline. The beachhead was filled with Water Tribe ships. Next to it, the docks were nearly destroyed. Cruisers had collapsed on it while others burned. There is something mortifying about looking at the Fire Nation capital. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children have burned because a man, and his father, and his grandfather, sitting inside that volcano wanted our land. In life, sometimes, it can take a few minutes to sink in with what one just saw. The Fire Nation Capital. The home of the evilest of evil. The red roofs, the many reds dotting the land, all for firebending. That teardrop flag was everywhere. General Fong kowtowed in front of Her Imperial Majesty. He asked for orders. “Inform Hakoda that we will moor off the next island over and wait for confirmation of the Fire Lord being killed. If he doesn’t report back to us in a day, I want all ships to sail home!” Fong bowed, wrote the orders down and sent a messenger hawk inland.

So we turned around and began sailing east. The other ships copied our moves. Inland, the eclipse had finally overtaken the Capital itself. The dragon reemerged, scaring the soldiers. Toph cited that as “another reason to wait and listen”. 

A glimmer of sunlight returned, the eclipse was over. I was watching the city as we sailed away, still fascinated by where we were. I watched the ‘light’ return. The light climbed up the volcano’s side, slowly ascending. It disappeared behind the rim. I saw a bright white flash, turned, and yelled “lightning!” The crew turned my way and stared at Caldera.  _ Boom _ . Thunderclap. The sky was cloudless, meaning that could only be Azula. _Or the Fire Lord_. Junks slowed down to form a defensive wall of ships behind us. Staring back at the city, it appeared as if some of the cutters were trying to escape. Fires danced above the rooftops, a macabre theater show for us to watch. 

Minutes passed. Another thunderclap. And that was it. The city slunk behind the horizon. Hours and hours passed. Hours waiting for the confirmation.

I’m writing this from the next evening. The confirmation never came. We are all assuming the worst. Toph stated “and this is why I didn’t order my men to charge in there. The Avatar’s a coward. If Azula wants to attack us, we’ll pelt her on our terms. I'm not risking any of my own men because the Avatar and the Water Tribes couldn't finish their phase.” We now sail home. 

HIM Entry XXII:

We were awoken for breakfast by a loud drumming. We descended to the mess hall. Despite the size of the ship, only fifty or so people were eating breakfast. And as a soldier told me when I asked “where everyone else was”, everyone on the ship, other than the night patrolmen and night helmsman, eat breakfast at the same time. The crew was surprised to see two new individuals. Both Suki and I were the recipients of many questions. As it turns out, these people have never seen auburn haired figures before. Our excuse was that we were Colonials, which was surprisingly bought. 

The Legend of the Badgermole:

Fire Nation food is extremely spicy. Even breakfast. And there’s lots of spice. I quote Suki screaming to me in our quarters later on, “I felt like I was about to breath fire”. We got to sit next to each other. They’d ask about our skills, our parents, and how experienced we were. 

One man, a gruff soldier, sitting in the back, tried to challenge my military experience. “What was the last battle you fought at?” I responded with “The Second Siege of Ba Sing Se”. The crowd gasped. Suki pressed my shoulder in one of those  _ you’re-gonna-get-killed-you-oaf _ presses. He crossed his arms, “I was there”, and squinted at me.  _ Challenge on _ . “So, where were you?” I asked. “I was part of the Navy’s Tundra Tank detachment”.  _ Time for all that Dai Li information _ . “You served under Colonel Takashi, then?” The crowd seemed surprised. “Everyone knows the might of the Veterans of the Siege of the North and our proud Colonel, where were you?” I gripped my jian hilt. “I served with the 4th Army. 34th Battalion, Courier”. He laughed. “So you just ran around ferrying messages. What a hero!” The rest of the crew laughed. “Listen, tankist, while you and Takashi were running around in your protective iron shells, I rode back -on an ostrich horse- to inform General Shinji that we needed fresh reinforcements...” He cut me off with a laugh. “So what?”. I fumed. “Where were you when the Outer Wall fell?” The crowd seemed to get the picture and murmured -in shock- amongst themselves. “We pulled out due to casualties, we were on our way towards the Pass”. “I watched General Shinji get his head removed in an Agni Kai by the One-Eyed Badgermole.” The man stood and bowed. “I am deeply sorry to…” then he fumed “how do I know you didn’t just make that up?” I stood, walked over to the end of the table, so we could see eye-to-eye. “Because the Badgermole grabbed me and removed my eye. He wanted Fire Nation soldiers to remember him”. Then I grabbed him. “Do you dare challenge my honor, soldier?” He pressed me back, fists up for a fight. “Yes.” And he spat on my face. I gripped my jian. “I challenge you to an Agni Kai.”

The crowd roared. People were chanting “Newcomer’s gonna be with the fishes tonight!” Suki ran up to get behind me, and we were escorted topside. Jee himself was summoned, and apparently when he was told what happened, he began cursing the spirits. Something about deja vu. 

Suki and I were given “a moment to speak before the duel”. She hugged me and whispered “I’m sure Kyoshi would approve this. I’m sorry I can’t join in, breaking him into pieces looks like fun. Go out there and cut him into pieces,  _ brother _ ” and jabbed me on the shoulder. 

I arrived on deck. Jee was sitting on a small paper chair, behind a table with small tiles on it, two firebenders flanking him, standing. The crowd was gathered along the ship’s railings, making as much space as possible. The mediator, the bongo player from last night, asked Jee how we would go about this. I wasn’t a firebender. Jee put down the tile he was playing with, and stated “he can just use his blade”. The soldier cracked his knuckles. We were both given robes and arm bracelets to wear. I took off my shirt, put on the robe and bracelets, and took my position. We kneeled back-to-back from each other and the gong sounded.

The following is a short tangent on Firebenders.

Firebenders, by nature, are very offensive in terms of fighting style. As a result, one can expect that most firebenders will be on the offensive. How would one counter this then? Well, one can either try to wear him down with attrition; most fighters will be worn out after a few seconds. One could try and counterattack, using his momentum against him and striking when he’s off footing. Or, one can countercharge. Charging a firebender is the riskiest, and most rewarding if done right, approach. On the one hand, his battery might catch  _ you _ off guard. On the other hand, unless he is a master bender, he likely has no defense in mind. Only ‘batter the enemy until he dies’. And they call earthbenders rock headed, ha!

And now, back to dueling.

It only took a few seconds, as usual. He charged me, punching fireballs, I charged him, jian held by my head. I dodged his fireballs and we both collided. He blocked my jian strike with his arm bracelet with a loud  _ ping _ . His right hand came at me from the side with a flame dagger, I parried his arm with my blade, then with a strike -one I practiced a dozen times- I cut around and stuck my blade into his leg. The crowd cheered. He fell over and I pointed my blade at him. “Yield!” I was willing to end this peacefully. “I will not yield, I would rather die!” the crowd ooh’d. So I brought my jian back to my ready position but before I could strike, Jee stomped over and screamed at the man. “Yield you fool!” The man kicked a fireball from his feet, but missed. So I took my sword and stuck it through his chest. 

The crowd gasped and cheered. Suki was applauding. I turned to the crowd and bowed. “The One Eyed Badgermole will hunt you down and remove your eyes!”  _ Might as well terrify them _ . Jee bowed to me and announced me the victor. The crowd bowed. I withdrew my blade, cleaned it off, and went back to my quarters. Suki came up to me with a grin on her face. “I’m so proud you won! Too bad you didn’t cut him into pieces like I asked!” And she laughed. And we hugged. 

After a day of insignificant work, mopping the deck, we reached an island where the ship docked and the crew went to the local tavern. Jee was happy to join them for drinks. We accompanied him. This was a small island, slightly larger than Kyoshi Island probably. It had a main tavern and a set of wharfs. Our ship was able to moor in the lagoon and disembark. The tropical air is much hotter than the cold south, then again most of the populace here is along the beachfront. These villagers were mostly fisherman. A small outpost -a small stone wall around a watchtower- acted as the local garrison. We were greeted with cheers by the locals when we arrived. 

As it turns out, the One Eyed Badgermole is something of a legend. When a sailor was telling a member of the local garrison about my experience with the One Eyed Badgermole, the soldier shook and was “amazed that you made it out in one piece.” Turns out, soldiers are terrified to utter his name. The death of Shinji somehow escaped the Fire Nation propaganda machine, probably due to the fleeing Imperial Firebenders. In addition, the entire reclamation of the city is attributed directly to him. As if he, individually, retook the capital. The thing is, I was there. Azula came up with the plans. She came up with the "encircle the city and break through the east and west". It's completely on Heiji and Shinji for overextending their lines. However, in classic Azula fashion, she named Shinji head of the entire operation to drive Heiji onwards. They were both trying to race to the Palace first and hoist a teardrop flag on it. As a result, they didn't expect a counterattack. They overextended because they didn't want to let the other one defeat them. Back to the Badgermole, other feats have been attributed to him. He’s killed ten officers while they slept, somewhere. He once rode a badgermole into a Fire Nation position near Omashu, destroying the whole outpost. According to various sailors and soldiers, he appears as a figure “clad in a blue robe, hair as red as flames, with a hole right through his face where his left eye should be, wielding a dao as green as jade”. Soldiers  _ pray _ to avoid him. People have sworn to see his figure, hiding in the forests, watching the troops as they pass.  _ Don’t tell anyone that “him” is currently having drinks with you in the tavern _ . 

As we were departing for the ship, we heard rumors from the town crier that the Earth Navy was retreating eastwards after being smashed. Suki wasn’t that concerned about it, “they’ll be fine, at least they left before Azula arrived”. We returned down a path not that different from the one on Kyoshi Island and boarded our cruiser. Even if Jee can’t kill me -his crew would mutiny- for winning a duel, he  _ can _ punish me. And killing one of his best men made him justifiably furious. Suki and I now got night shifts. To quote Suki, “brilliant job idiot”. 

We found out the next day, er, the next night, that Jee received new orders. We were to sail for the Southern Colonies to join up as the naval wing of the local forces. Apparently there is a massive invasion planned around the end of summertime. Something about Sozin's Comet . 

I relayed this information to Suki, who had two things to say. “Lets get home, damnit!” and “they can’t possibly burn the entire Earth Kingdom down in one day, so we’re fine.” 

I mean, she’s right about that. 

It's not like the Fire Nation has the ability to fly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toph followed through with the plan. Not her fault the other two heads-of-state (Aang and Hakoda) failed during their phases. 
> 
> The whole "getting an eye removed" thing is partially inspired by Inglorious Bastards.  
The Fire Nation is quite afraid of the One-Eyed Badgermole and thus many situations and failures have been attributed to him. Meanwhile, all the Consort did was lunge his inebriated self into a duel with Shinji and win.


	23. The Lands of the Protectorate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follow the Kyoshian duo as they travel through the lands that took up arms against the Earth Queen. Inspired by the Yellow Turban Rebellion. 
> 
> Note: Shorter chapter than usual.

HIM Entry XXIII:

Two or so weeks have passed. Lost track. I tire of tropical air and strange spicy food  _ why can’t they just make plain food _ . The trade winds made us loop around the center of the world. I’m writing this, today, with land in sight. Earth Kingdom land. When I roused Suki from her stead with the news, she cheered. 

Spending weeks with Fire Nation sailors and soldiers was useful. They aren’t savages. They have a peculiar culture and poison their food with spices, they go to the beach when its blisteringly hot out, and it's always hot out. They have an honor system that can and  _ will _ get themselves killed. And yet, it's still honor. There’s a friendly competitiveness between various regiments and battalions. If I ever make it back to the damn capital, I’m going to press for an edict that when we eventually reconquer the Colonies, we will treat them with the respect they treat each other. Now, quill down, let’s go home damnit. Oh, and don’t forget to poach the whiskey.

We landed at a small fishing town. Suki and I bowed to Jee to thank him for hosting us, I told him that “I’ll never forget you for this”. He smiled, and I could swear the second we got off the ship, he cursed us "why do I have to keep contending with annoying teenage one-eyed brats!." Didn’t matter. We were technically home. Technically.

The Lands of the Protectorates:

Surprisingly, there was no official border between the Colonies and the Earth Kingdom. More like a no man’s land. We passed through a more heavily-garrisoned Colonial village, with one of the soldiers telling us “over there is the Earth Kingdom”. I recall pointing out to him “so this piece of green grass is yours and that piece of green grass over there is theirs? That’s not confusing at all” and we departed. We bought some green peasant garb, with pockets. I stuffed my last heirloom in one. 

We crossed a ridgeline of ash and we were home. Kind of. When we approached this tiny guard outpost from the west, the guards halted us. Two figures dressed like sandbenders. They asked where we were going, to which Suki stated we “we're heading north, what’s it your business”. They took offense to that, and stated they had to arrest us for trespassing “Protectorate” Lands.  _ Oh, great _ . “Well, sirs, I take offense to you. Take offense to this!” Suki shouted before punching both of them, knocking them out, and we grabbed their ostrich horse and rode away. 

We came over another ridgeline and ended up overlooking a military position. Tents were scattered about. Most of the soldiers were standing in the parade square, with one figure in front, facing them. We missed whatever his motivational speech was, but their flags were definitely unique. It looked very similar to the Earth Kingdom flag, except color swapped. Green was traded for beige yellow. Gold was traded for dark grey. The soldiers standing watch  _ here _ were happy to see two people arrive. “You here to join the militia? Go right through!” the soldiers smiled. “Oh, and long live the Protectorate”. Suki gave a pretty good summary later on. “So they want to march a thousand miles to oust the Queen and Consort, right? What a waste.”

The soldiers ahead of us were in a gaggle, not a column. They were chanting some kind of awful marching song. 

_ It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se _

_ But the girls in the city/they look so pretty _

_ And they kiss so sweet that you've really got to meet/The girls from Ba Sing Se!  _

We followed behind them, by some distance. We joined a mob of camp followers, bearing banners and bringing supplies along in carts. I asked the civilians what the status of the current Earth Kingdom was, and only received snippets of information. The following is simply rumors I have heard from this camp follower group alone: I was told that  _ we now have a national anthem _ , the “Usurper” has women serving the home guard, she’s also removing the autonomy of most Earth Kingdom provinces except Kyoshi Island and Omashu. The One-Eyed Badgermole is some kind of evil merciless slaughterer, killing entire towns that don't swear loyalty to the Queen.   


We were able to discreetly join this follower train for a few days. Militiamen would pop out of nowhere and join this extending column. They'd walk out of the forests, walk off the fields, come out of alleyways. They were all dressed in peasant garb. Apparently, these people assume they will get “uncountable riches” after sacking Ba Sing Se.  _ Because if the Fire Nation couldn’t do it, certainly a bunch of desert folk and the rabble of society would be able to? _ By the way, they kept complaining about the weather. Most of the soldiers here are sandbenders from the desert, their ranks are also filled by gaggles of untrained men. When I refer to them as “columns” it's more like “roughly organized into a line, but most of the time just blobs of men”. In addition to the sandy banners, they unveiled a banner of a winged boar being impaled by a pitchfork. 

The commander of this force was apparently the commander of  _ all _ Protectorate forces, named Hong. He didn’t wear the robes of a general, instead opting for peasant garb. As we’d pass through fields, farmers would cheer him on, many times they’d join the army wielding pitchforks and scythes. The last night we were part of this caravan, we stopped off at a “Protectorate” tavern and learned more information. The “Usurper” had dispatched armies to counter this threat. Three generals, formerly subordinates to How, were now part of the Council of Five. The following is information I wish to include based on my memory of their reports: Song was very old, with a wispy white beard and supposedly wields the personal dao of Crown Prince Lu Ten. Zhi was of Barbarian ancestry and had a husky voice, was thin as a reed and tall as a bamboo tree. I know little of Jun, the few Dai Li reports I recall mention he was honorable and reserved. 

The rumors from tavern goers, meanwhile, state that the Five are each leading an army. Their whereabouts are unknown. Hong loved to drink. Listening to his drunken ramblings, we learned -and this could be inaccurate- “we’ve gotten three hundred thousand followers from just the Protectorate’s territories! We haven’t even reached the Usurper’s lands yet!” The Protectorate’s ‘armies’ weren’t traditional forces. Instead, they were a dozen mobs unified by local warlords. 

Suki and I bought a room in the tavern to stay in and finally had some time to speak to each other. She asked if we should just kill him right here and now, I stated that maybe it's better to let him amass all his followers first, “so we can smash them all together”. We concluded to ride half a day's march ahead of the column. That way, we could scout them while not being caught up in the blob.   


It’s a Long Long Way to Ba Sing Se:

We left in the middle of the night. The mob of soldiers were busy being hungover to inquire about our hastened departure. Now that we had time to ourselves, we could look back on the past weeks of ‘fun’. The Fire Navy’s amazing whiskey was our first point of discussion. “I’m almost willing to forgive them for their war crimes if they just sent us a lifetime shipment of Fire Whiskey. You agree,  _ Consort? _ ”. I nodded. Suki was the one holding the reins while I sat behind her. We’d switch off in riding if we had to.

My mind wandered, as it always does when I’m not inebriated enough.  _ Records of the Warlords _ was a fascinating chronicle. I read through it in its entirety while waiting for set off for the Fire Nation, what, two months earlier? The Yellow Neck Rebels were, in it of themselves, not that effective at capitulating the Earth Kingdom. The monarch was also quite weak. The 45th Earth King is said to have spent most of his reign enjoying pleasantries. This was back when the -good- Kings lead their armies on campaigns. The only thing he passed that could be considered an edict during his entire twenty year rule was to make the Monarch even more pompous. Everything had to be etched in gold. Taxes were raised so high that the peasants could barely afford to buy their own grain back for food. The Avatar at the time, Kuruk, was a incompetant idiot. Yangchen would use her magical air powers to police the entire world, but the 45th Earth King couldn’t run his own kingdom. It’s no surprise that Xu Ping An, a charismatic illiterate, rallied the poverty stricken to his cause.

The  _ Records _ make a point to show that the 45th Earth King didn’t bother with dispatching an army. I believe the writer was a member of the first generation of Dai Li, back when becoming a member meant one was an excellent bender and master of history. Xu Ping An marched across the southern Earth Kingdom, notoriously filled with outlaws as the long arms of the Badgermole Throne can’t cross the Si Wong Desert, and sacked every town that didn’t join his cause. The standing army wasn’t raised to counter him and even if they were, marching that far south was nigh impossible. It took Kuruk’s companion, Jianzhu the Brave -or Jianzhu the Gravedigger as Kyoshi’s oral traditions call him- and one major defeat for the Yellow Necks to send them into hiding.

But this wasn’t the end of the Yellow Necks or the chaos. The Yellow Necks, as a movement, ended with Xu Ping An’s death after dueling Avatar Kyoshi. While the Yellow Necks themselves ceased to exist, there were still a million -the  _ Records _ could be exaggerating this- unruly peasants. The 45th Earth King died shortly after. “The 45th Earth King’s reign ended when he was toying with a crossbow, but due to nobody ever instructing him on how to use the device, he shot himself and died. The 45th Earth King was posthumously crowned ‘The King of Formalities’”. The 46th Earth King was more competent than his father. Not a hard achievement to obtain. 

The 46th Earth King began his reign in debt. The 45th Earth King bankrupted the Kingdom, a miraculous feat never thought possible. The 46th Earth Kingdom, in a massive blunder, stated he’d pay anyone willing to crush the rebels. Dozens of men rose up, leading small warbands of mercenaries and local troops, and attacked the unruly masses. Ministers from the government joined in. The Yellow Neck rebellion ends. The officers waited for the payment. The King sent out a message to them saying the country is in debt. So the warlords turn against the Kingdom and start fighting amongst each other. One man, Chin, General of the North, is recorded as conquering the rest of the Earth Kingdom effortlessly. While other warlords fought amongst each other, he mopped up the weaker warlords, took their troops under his banner and continued, attacking two warlords after a battle or after one warlord finishes off another but is still weakened. He didn’t stop to rest his men, promising them riches once they captured the whole Kingdom. He was also a ruthless killer. Any man that didn’t join his war effort was killed. Whether nobility or peasantry. He became legendary in looting entire villages before burning them down. As such, armies of Monarchist refugees fled to Ba Sing Se. These refugees manned the now empty Walls and, without pay, routed Chin’s forces. Chin set his sights on one peninsula he hadn’t yet captured, Yokoya peninsula. Of course, he met his end on this peninsula. _Records_ ends with his death. History shows that the consequences of this long period of warring would cause a peasant rebellion, this time in Ba Sing Se.    


Passing through various Protectorate villages, Earth Kingdom banners are burned. Paintings of Toph are burned or vandalized. Any objects that are considered “related to the Usurper” are torched or melted down to fashion spear points. Most of the Protectorate forces are, a) untrained peasantry and b) non benders. There are exceptions. Another feature of the Protectorate army is a lack of organization. I can’t tell who the officers are if there even are any. Hong was visible due to all the bannermen surrounding him, but for most of these villages, they appear to just be mobs of peasants directly by the accusations of random individuals. “That house belongs to the Usurper”, a man might cry, causing the house to be torched. At one point, Suki yelled out -while passing a crowd- that “those fields all belong to the Usurper” and the crowd, pitchforks and torches in hand, marched out to the fields. We rode away to a nearby hill and watched as they burned down all of their crops.

I’m writing this from a tavern room we bought using money we stole from Hong before leaving. After all, he’s supposed to be poor, right? Soon, we will reach Earth Kingdom territory again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember those three Generals. They become important later. And as this is the Earth Kingdom, the killer of Lu Ten is a war hero. 
> 
> There's a bunch of historical references in this one.   
Hong is named after Hong Xiuquan, leader of the Taipeng Rebellion. Song, Zhi and Jun are named after Generals from the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The book Records of the Warlords is a homage to Records of the Three Kingdoms. I also added in details from Rise of Kyoshi to help flesh out the time period. The 46th Earth King is the same man we meet in the Kyoshi section of "Escape to the Spirit World" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqnfCsqLPpE).


	24. Infrastructure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Duo finally reaches Earth Kingdom territory. Some things have changed, like a monorail line. Some things have remained the same, like a hungover officer tripping over himself and a Mad King defeating entire armies.

HIM Entry XXIV:

We name forts now?:

We rode onwards for a morning, passing rolling hills and dales, villages and a massive field of earth coins, until we came upon a fortification with an Earth Kingdom flag on it. It stood on a tall hilltop, likely giving a view far and wide. The guards immediately got into low stances, fists at the ready. I jumped off the ostrich horse and bowed. The guards hesitated. Suki got off and faced me from the side. She called out. “Men, you should be bowing to this man, for he is the Imperial Consort!” The lot of them looked at each other and laughed. One man, dressed like an officer with a small pinned topknot, spoke for the rest of them. “The Imperial Consort vanished. How do we know you are he?” Suki spoke as my representative: “He has auburn hair, is tall, looks just like a Kyoshi Islander, and is missing an eye”. The guards laughed. “So what?” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the last heirloom I had. An item so small nobody would take it or even notice it. My eyepatch.  _ Thank the spirits for a coat of arms _ . I turned away, removed the cloth eyepatch Suki fashioned for me, and put on my Imperial Eyepatch. On the eyepatch, the Imperial Sigil: Left side sky-blue, right side Earth Kingdom green. Left side, a yellow fan; right side, a white Boar’s Head. The eyepatch’s tailoring was so intricate, the individual blades of the opened fan were visible. This was a one of a kind. Even the Avatar’s clothes aren’t as iconic.

Upon seeing this, the guards kowtowed. One man yelled out “open the gates, it’s His Imperial Majesty!” Farther off in the distance, people yelling “how?” and “you’re kidding, right?” As I said to Suki, “no, I’m not kidding.” and she laughed. Ironically, when she punched me in the shoulder as a response to that comment, the guards standing atop the wall immediately encased her in stone. “No, you morons! She’s my bodyguard!” They all tensed up _as if_ _they just encased the Consort’s best friend in stone_ because they just encased the Consort’s best friend in stone. They released her, and she promised to “kick each and every one of their asses tomorrow”. The walls opened, and some hastily-dressed, or hungover, not sure which, officer emerged, wearing a night robe with his formal military hat on. “Your Imperial Majesty, welcome to Fort Fuying” the man stated, kowtowing. His hat proceeded to fall off and his queue fell in front of his eyes. Suki burst into laughter. I did, too. I struggled to produce a sentence, laughing my way through one. “General...officer...whatever you are. You’re obviously...dressed...for the occasion. And...since when...do we name outposts?”. And I fell over, clutching my sides with laughter. Suki grabbed me and helped me back up. The officer looked up at me, probably assuming he was about to be executed. I grabbed his hat off the ground and held it, dangling, until some courtiers got the idea that _maybe I wanted someone to take it_. 

“Stand, damn you. I’m too tired to kill anyone. I’m not tired enough for a drink, though.” The squire of this officer ran off and fetched me a mug with water in it. Suki laughed at him bumbling towards us, trying to prevent any water from being spilled. “I think His Imperial Majesty didn’t mean water” Suki stated,  _ you know me well, cousin _ . “Oh, right away Your Majesty, please pardon my squire’s failure” and the officer himself slapped the squire and ran off to fetch me a  _ drink _ . He tripped over himself while running towards the storage room, and tripped over himself while running back to us, drink in hand. A guard caught the drink but didn’t catch the man, so by the time he got to us he was covered in dirt. The guards stifled their laughter, but we didn’t. “Your Majesty, here’s the best stuff we’ve got”. I grabbed a drink and downed an entire mug in one gulp. “What is this? Why does it taste like grapes? This isn't a drink. ” Suki finished the sentence for me. “You heard the man, get him -and me- some damn whiskey!” They didn’t have any. No matter, we were tired enough that we’d put up with this joke of a drink called wine. 

We were given the most luxurious quarters in the fort, the officer’s quarters. Consisting of a bed and a study. How formal. The officer kept apologizing for the lack of regalness, but Suki and I didn’t really care. We were brought to his excuse of a war room and shown a regional map. There was a straight line on the map that seemed freshly drawn, coming from the top right and stopping near the center of the map. A dot marked its endpoint: a storage depot. Upon inquiry, it turns out that Toph’s last edict, I wasn’t present to hear it due to preparing for departure, was calling on the Home Guard to expand the monorail lines beyond Ba Sing Se. I assume she spoke to Sokka in one of those meetings I didn’t attend due to being busy studying or training with Piandao and she then passed on his ideas/blueprints to the Minister of Public Works. It didn’t matter. Now, the same lines that crisscrossed the Capital now extend far across the Kingdom,

I also told this officer the news I obtained from traveling with the rebels. Who led the armies, how structured they were -they weren’t-, the level of training -nonexistent-, their movements -one was coming this way- among other things. We were interrupted by an earthquake. Immediately, guards rushed in to protect me. “That’s no earthquake” Suki muttered. I ran to the walls and looked out at the valley beneath us. Obscured by a hill, the ‘army’ of the Protectorate that we were part of was being obliterated. Their screams were heard from here. “Did your badgermole arrive, Your Majesty?” one of the guards asked.  _ I don’t recall owning a badgermole, no _ . They were sent in all directions like a gale striking a tree in autumn. One figure emerged from the hill, wildly cackling and punching the air. He looked towards us and _howled_. His cackles echoed across to us, leaving us flabbergasted.  _ There’s only one man across the Earth Kingdom who could do that _ . With a foot stomp, he rode a wave over towards the defensive position.  _ His Royal Highness, the King of Omashu. _

The Mad King: 

He cackled as he arrived. The guards bowed, but I did not. The officer spoke up. “Your Royal Highness, I welcome you to Fort Fuying”. The Mad King cackled. “That’s a funny name”. The officer retained his  _ really formal _ voice. “And may I introduce you to His Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Consort”. He gave a formal bow and replied. “Well hi there, consort! You have enough imperials in your name or do you need more?” The guards weren’t allowed to laugh at that joke. Bumi continued. “Talk about a tough-as-rocks crowd, eh?” I chuckled. “At least you guys are tough, the last batch practically blew away in the breeze!”  _ I get it, Bumi. Because sand blows in the wind. Stop. Please. You’re killing me. _ “So,  _ imperial _ consort, thanks for making Omashu a free city! I'm off to find some old friends” he gave one more formal bow, waved his arms back and forth and rode away on an earth wave. 

The officer and his men followed his figure as he vanished over a hillside.  _ Well that was unexpected _ . “So, officer-sir, thanks for the rooms, I’m going to sleep now” I waved to him and ran off to my room, Suki came along. Guards were kowtowing,  _ back to usual _ . We spent a few minutes recoiling from the ridiculousness of the past few hours. Suki went off to sleep while I grabbed a satchel and an empty journal and transcribed the past weeks of events. Now I had two copies of it. Suki stole my blanket. Now I am going to sleep. 

The Monorail:

We awoke the next morning and had breakfast in the mess hall. Suki and I joked around with the soldiers about the hilarity of recent events. We ate their sorry excuse for a breakfast, some bread and one strip of meat. We were offered a carriage to transport us to the train. Instead, Suki and I took an ostrich horse. It took us half an hour, but we arrived at the storage depot. In the middle of the facility, cutting it in half, was the monorail line. The monorail station looked identical to a station in Ba Sing Se, except much less elegant. The lines turned right, becoming six lines instead of two, before disappearing into a storage building. The platforms and line itself sat on the ground. Chest-high stone walls were erected on either side of the monorail line itself. There were two lines next to each other. The vehicle itself looked like a box, just like the Ba Sing Se line. Less detail, it looked more like a stone box with paper windows. The guards were already informed of our arrival, and kowtowed when we arrived. We rode up to the train station and an officer introduced himself as the commander of this train. We were getting on a train heading back to Ba Sing Se, as such; it was empty. A few guards got on to accompany us, we sat down on simple stone seats with lots of padding. These weren’t passenger trains, like in Ba Sing Se. This was for soldiers. We informed the officer we were ready to go, a horn sounded, and I heard men calling out commands.

We went to sleep shortly after the train set off, the conductor was informing us it’d be a day-long journey. So we slept on the seats themselves. By the time we awoke, we were arriving at the Serpent’s Pass. According to the conductor, this train line was brand new, and most of the Earth Kingdom, save going towards the Colonies, didn't have train lines yet. The reason this one stretched to that storage depot was due to the Protectorate’s rebellion. They needed to transport troops and supplies as quickly as possible. Sure enough, at the southern start-point to the Serpent’s Pass, we stopped at a train station. Scores of troops were cheering when we arrived, our train was draped in Imperial flags. They were boarding a train going southbound, many of them fresh with supplies. Some of them, women. I stuck my hand out, because why not, and waved to them all. I looked out at the Pass itself. The Serpent’s Pass was once a treacherous path to cross. But now? The mountain, once united, was divided in two. A long straight road went down the middle, refugees were walking northwards. They had stopped to look at the wave of noise and upon seeing the Imperial flags, cheered as well. Not kowtowing, these weren’t nobles trying to vy for power or a general trying to appear loyal. The soldiers stiffened their backs, clutched their weapons with toil-hardened hands, and marched as uniformly as they could onto the train. I called out that “anyone that makes it back gets a free drink on me!” and the soldiers laughed. As did Suki and my guards. Even as the horn sounded, the soldiers were filling the windows looking at Suki and I. “Go on, men, onwards to a long death in the Si Wong!” I yelled out and punched the air. “Hear hear!” they responded. “To the Badgermole!” some female soldiers called out from inside their train. The soldiers repeated the chant. A man was yelling about “launching” and two earthbenders at the back pushed off. The soldiers kept cheering as these two buff men kicked the track itself, propelling the train forward at a high speed along its single track. 

Our train set off shortly after. We came upon a very long, thin bridge, crossing the East Lake. Beneath us, two junks were patrolling this section. The bridge was supported by pillars and was wide enough to support two rail lines. Evidence of earthen scaffolding is still present. In some places, earth pillars pop up out of the lake and rise to the height of the line. In others, small islands of stone lay next to a pillar. Fishing ships were dotted across the lake. I imagine some of them stopped and looked at the train as it crossed. _We'd have to fear a Serpent except Azula shot it full of lightning_. Suki and I exchanged asking questions of this conductor and the guards. Where they came from, what made him qualified to run this, what his goals were, among other things. He grew up along a trade route off the eastern coast. He was an architect by trade and volunteered to join when we sent out the call-to-arms. His backstory did give us insight into the current state-of-affairs of the Earth Kingdom, before we return to the capital. Her Imperial Majesty is calling for anyone “with a brain” to come to the Imperial Palace and present any inventions they have. 

We arrived at the Outer Wall. From here, we stopped off at a train station where lots of civilians got on. They paid no heed to Suki or I as we weren’t dressed lavishly. From here, the line would, according to the conductor, join up with the older lines -recently repaired- and we’d be in the Upper Ring in no time. The train was a very popular choice of commute for the residents of Ba Sing Se. Much faster than walking and affordably priced. People squeezed each other and the once empty train was now cramped. As most of them were getting off in the Lower Ring, one of the guards went “I’m sorry for being cramped into you Your Majesty” and the crowd turned around and stared at us. Suki and I widely smiled and waved our hands and one of the former passengers fainted. No matter. We set off for the Middle Ring and I joked with the remaining passengers, mostly merchants and craftsmen, about the bumpy ride. I told them that “yes, I too feel every single bump” and when the conductor’s smile turned into a wince, the passengers laughed. I jabbed him in the shoulder with an  _ I'm-not-executing-you  _ jab. His scared expression only amused the rest of the crowd. A young boy strolled up to me and asked me in the most adorable of fashions “are you the King” and I chuckled. His mother, a young woman, ran up to me and begged mercy for “the disrespect” and was halfway through scolding her son when I went “Well if I was the King maybe I’d be disrespected but I’m not the King am I?” and laughed. She pulled the kid away and vanished, along with most of the passengers, at the next stop. 

We reached the Upper Ring and the last stop of the train. Beneath us, the streets were surprisingly populated. People clad in noble robes were walking around, alongside twos of soldiers milling about. Lots of red-and-greens, Colonials. When we got off at the last stop, the Imperial Palace was straight ahead. The low wall cutting the Outer Courtyard off from the rest of the city and the rest of the world, the wall cutting off the Inner Courtyard from the Outer, and the massive terracotta colored Imperial Palace itself, draped in flags. As we began walking down the axis road, we were tackled by the Kyoshi Warriors.  _ Tackled _ . Lots of “you’re alive!” and “thank the spirits!” and shocked faces. It all changed when I, after being helped up by the same bodyguards that tackled me, stated that “we’d all get hammered when we get home tonight!” and the gang cheered. 

Flight:

As we walked down the main road, I heard a loud whirring. “Girls, what’s the whirring?” Aoma responded, all jumpy, “its something called a ‘aircraft’, ain’t it great?” I looked to my left, right, spun in all directions, and looked back at her. “I don’t understand, where is it?” All the girls pointed to the sky. Sure enough, above us, some kind of green dot was whirring across the sky. It, the object, came back towards the ground and seemed to be following the central axis before landing behind the Outer Courtyard. I immediately took off, my hands on the sword hilt. Aoma yelled out from behind me, all the girls giving chase. “It’s not an enemy! That’s one of ours!” I stopped and caught my breath while they caught up to me. From here, we ran up to the Outer Gates, where the guards instinctively kowtowed. One yelled out. “Inform Her Imperial Majesty the Consort has returned!” and a man ran off. The Royal Guards were clad in the same yellow uniforms I remember. The gates swung open and revealed that the Imperial Walkway of Ten Thousand Years appeared to be some kind of landing strip for the object. It was a vehicle. It possessed one wing, if you can call it that. Some kind of device was attached right beneath the wing. There was also a pilot, or the back of his head. He appeared to be a boy. His seat was connected to the wing by struts. He pulled some levers and detached himself from the wing, which rested on the ground thanks to another set of struts. He wheeled his...cart...around to face me and waved. “Your Majesty, what an honor!” I walked up to him and shook his hand and stated “that was pretty cool” and smiled. He introduced himself as Teo, and that his father created this ‘aircraft’ based on previous designs. On cue, horns sounded from far away, atop the thousand steps. The tiny figure, clad in majestic robes, appeared.  _ I’m home. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh how times have changed. The Consort hated coats of arms and look at how it saved him. Also, the Mad King isn't part of this story. He freed himself on Black Sun and now he's off to go find the White Lotus. Also, planes!
> 
> Next chapter's going to very short.


	25. The Mechanist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A technological revolution is beginning, thanks to the Mechanist!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, next one will be released tomorrow to compensate.

HIM Entry XXV:

Her Imperial Majesty yelled out “what took you so long?” from the top of the stairs. The rest of the crowd was busy kowtowing, except me. I ran to the Inner Courtyard. “I kinda ended up doing a tour of the rest of the world, Your Majesty”. Toph shrugged. “Good enough for me, now get back to work! You have a meeting to attend!” Toph turned and left and the crowd stood again. I ran up the steps, huffing and puffing, and fell over when I got to the top. Meanwhile, Teo fired up his vehicle and used the Imperial Walkway as some kind of takeoff strip. 

The First Metalbender:

I caught up to Toph, she was walking at a brisk pace across the Palace surrounded by Royal Guards. My guards and hers’ kind of blobbed together. She was playing with something in her hand but I couldn’t see it. “What do you mean I have a meeting to attend to?”. Toph waved her hand “as I said, you have a meeting to attend. I have a vitally important toe-picking session to get to”. See, I’d think I was dreaming if this was any other monarch or world leader, but who am I kidding,  _ of course she’s got toe picking to get to _ . The Palace still smelled the same as it always does. Lots of incense and wood-fired smoke. Was the staff surprised to see me? Yes. Did it matter? Not really. The massive doors swung open and we entered the Badgermole Throne. Dai Li agents were standing side-by-side with Royal Guards. Beneath the Throne, where the War Table once was, now sat some mechanical monstrosity next to the vehicle Teo was flying, sans pilot. A small object, the power source of Teo’s vehicle, sat alone atop a table. Toph took her place at the Badgermole Throne and revealed what sat in her right hand. A small ball of metal. She closed her fist and opened it and the ball was suddenly a bracelet. I screamed out from across the room “you can bend metal? That’s impossible!” 

Toph made herself appear much larger by stretching her hands to the sides and started laughing. “Because...I...am...the greatest...earthbender...of all time!” and grinned her crafty smile. A man emerged from behind the metallic monstrosity. He had patchy eyebrows, was missing three fingers on his left hand, replaced with wooden ones, had hair on the side of his head pointing upwards, and a thick brown mustache and beard. He bowed out of respect. “Your Imperial Majesty! What an honor!” and he walked up to shake my hand. I gave him a quizzical eyebrow and asked “I love being randomly greeted, but who are you?” General How also emerged from behind the monstrosity. “Your Imperial Majesty, this is The Mechanist.” Said Mechanist smiled. 

The Mechanist’s Inventions:

“Your Imperial Majesty, may I introduce...the earthbending powered tank!” And he waved his hands in the rough direction of the grey-colored object. “Why is it so big” I asked. “Oh, this is a half-sized prototype model”.  _ Half-sized _ . I asked for an explanation of the object, and he gave me an overview of it. It is powered by four earthbenders and runs on tracks. The armor for the vehicle consists of earth plates tied together with metallic wire. As a result, earthbenders inside the vehicle can open or close armor pieces to fire earth projectiles out of it. The vehicle itself can rear like an ostrich horse, thanks to an articulated midpoint. As a result it can cross rough terrain that even cavalry can’t cross. 

He mentioned that the main downside of the tank, aside from its slow speed, is in fighting earthbenders. “However, if this tank is used against earthbenders, they can simply pull off the plates. We don’t possess the same metal as for the Fire Nation’s tundra tanks and as-”. Toph slung her metal ball at me, bopping me on the head.  _ Ow _ . The Mechanist winced. “What was that for, Your Majesty?” I asked, rubbing my head. “He mentioned earthbenders. Repeat that!” The Mechanist put his hands together. “The tank is impervious against all opponents. Your average firebender can’t burst this open. A waterbender would have to freeze the ground beneath the tank. But a earthbender could simply pull it off. We don’t have the same metal industry as the Fire Nation-” but Toph shouted and cut him off. “That’s it!” she yelled as she punched the air. “What is Her Imperial Majesty referring to?” he asked me. Toph picked up the metal ball from the ground and summoned it back to her. The Mechanist’s jaw dropped as he put the pieces together. “An army of metalbenders” he whispered. “That’s right!” she shouted. 

She declared a War Meeting to be called later, and that the Mechanist was cordially invited. But first she let the Mechanist continue explaining his inventions to me. Why wait for me? As Toph put it “I can’t see the inventions but the Consort can”. He walked over to the ‘aircraft’ Teo was previously whirling around in. “May I introduce you to...powered flight!” He spoke of this quite proudly. I walked up to the object and got to feel it. It was mostly of wood construction. The wing looked to be made of spruce wood. The wing covering was made of a type of cloth. All of it was tied together with some type of twine. The engine was too complicated for me to understand, but it's a miniaturized version of the engines that drive the Tundra Tanks. The propeller was operated by some kind of chain. 

The individual operating the machinery uses a stick. To go up, pull the stick towards oneself. And vice versa. The rudder, akin to a ship’s rudder, was operated using two pedals. Turning the stick to the left or right would cause the wing to bank. The Mechanist stated that the aircraft had a low “ceiling” of flight. And yet, it was capable of flying at high speeds. It could only fly for two hours before needing to be refueled, but he assures that "a higher fuel capacity will come with the next model". I told him that “while I’m quite proud of all this work, I understand only half of it as well as I’d like to.” and departed to get changed for the War Meeting. Suki pursued me. 

I went back to the Imperial Bedroom, still smells like exotic soaps and rare teas. Ming applauded when she saw me. She asked Suki and I of our adventures and we gave a very short summary. Then I changed out of these filthy, overly-worn peasant clothes and into the stuffy, more-ornate-than-needed Imperial Daytime Summertime Robes. The yellowest and brightest robe in the collection. _Back to being the Consort_.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steam powered Tanks (like in the show)! Monoplanes! Next chapter, we meet the new Council of Five!  
-Some aviation history facts below:   
The invention of powered flight is based on the Mechanist having studied gliding for years. Real world pioneers of flight also studied gliding. 
> 
> The most famous example is the Wright Brothers studying Lilienthal, another relevant example is the Germans pursuing better gliders during the interwar period, thus making them excellent pilots.


	26. The War Meeting with all the Tanks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the new Council of Five! And they aren't incompetent. Together, they will discuss modernization plans.

HIM Entry XXVI:

Where did all these vehicles come from?

The Imperial...Tank?:

I was halfway through changing for the War Meeting -specifically putting on my heavy  _ chaofu _ \- when a Dai Li agent arrived to inform me that I was expected at the War Meeting.  _ Because I was obviously getting dressed for lunch, right _ ? Ming was happy to comment that “You look great in this season’s yellow”. I thanked her for the compliment, she did up my topknot, and I set off. Suki and the Warriors were waiting outside the doors. I had told her previously that I didn’t like “having an entire battalion of guards constantly following me” and insisted on only one guard constantly following me. Obviously, that would be Suki. No disrespect meant to the rest of you who'd all gladly die for me but I don't like constantly having a mini-army following me. The two of us set off for the Council’s chambers. She was dressed in her Kyoshi Warrior makeup again, katana attached to her side and fans tucked into her sash. It hit me how many guards are always standing, or patrolling a small area. Well the Imperial Palace isn't 'small' but compared to a military base it is. The Imperial Grounds, on the other hand, are their own city. And they all always kowtow. As we walked down the main hallway, most of the doors have one Royal Guard standing to the side. The Imperial Entrance is manned by multiple Royal Guards. This isn’t to mention the secret battalion of Dai Li agents dotted across the grounds. 

Reaching the thousand steps, I was surprised to see some sort of vehicle, painted in the colors of the Imperial Sigil, parked at the bottom of the steps. I asked the Guards what is was, they told me, “It's a new Imperial Carriage prototype, Your Majesty" the two men stiffened. “When was this introduced, men?” “An hour ago?” “Oh”.  _ Oh _ . Said vehicle was driven by the Captain of the Guard, Wuhan. “I’m proud to drive His Imperial Majesty to the War Meeting”. I shrugged  _ because the tower’s a ten minute walk _ but still got inside the vehicle anyways. It was originally designed to be a vehicle that supplies earthbenders with ammunition but this model, the prototype, was turned into a “modernized carriage” or something. The vehicle moves on tracks akin to the Tundra Tank. 

Inside, seats that weren’t as elegant as the Carriage -they were wooden benches- but that’s forgivable as  _ this was formally introduced an hour ago _ . It drove at the same pace as a carriage. Also, to get in, you’d have to climb in through the back of the vehicle. There was no door. There was no roof, only a tarp covering us. There weren’t any windows, either, the same tarp extended down to the metal siding and was seemingly tied down to it. Horns sounded  _ because why wouldn’t they sound _ and by the time I was done analyzing the interior we had arrived. I realized that two Royal Guards were hanging on to the back of the truck while we drove along. To exit, the back ‘entrance’ had to drop open to form a ramp.   


The New Council of Five:

Upon entering the chambers, I was greeted with a loud “where were you” by Toph. “I was getting changed,” I told her. “Good, because you’re running this” and she sat back on an Imperial chair and began playing with her metal ball, changing it into a variety of shapes.  _ Of course I am _ . 

The table consisted of the following Generals, each one was formally introduced by a courtier  _ even if I already had heard of them _ : from left to right:

Jun, recently promoted Imperial Commander: General of the East. He has a quiet, unassuming presence and gives very nice bows. 

Fong, known as the Commoner or People’s General: General of the South. 

How, named Commander of all Imperial Forces: General-in-Chief

Zhi, recently promoted Imperial Commander: General of the North. Taller than the rest of the Council and added a fur cape to his General uniform

Song, recently promote Imperial Commander: General of the West. On his side, a dark red scabbard featuring swirling gold dragons. The personal twin dao of Prince Lu Ten. 

The Achievements of Jun, Zhi and Song:

As a lieutenant, Jun never lost a battle. He has mostly fought daofei cells due to his location, but no matter the size of the rabble, he smashed the cell in its entirety. Zhi, despite being of Barbarian ancestry, has squashed multiple minor Barbarian rebellions. His fur cape is a way of staying connected to his harsh roots. The Barbarians of the far northwest are known to be fearless soldiers and yet, Zhi was more fearless than them all. In addition, he defended refugees fleeing to the Northern Air Temple, fighting a series of tactical retreats until the refugees made it safely into the mountain range. And Song? Song is and was the personification of the archaic saying “beware of an old man in a profession where most men die young”. 

Song was a twenty year old officer cadet when Azulon personally led the Fire Nation against the Serpent’s Pass in the First Battle of the Serpent’s Pass. Song led his men to demolish the centerpoint of the Pass. While the battle was a costly victory for the Earth Kingdom, with almost all of the officers killed, the destruction of the center of the Pass kept Ba Sing Se safe for another thirty years. Decades later, Prince Lu Ten was leading Fire Nation forces across the Agrarian Zone when he came upon the aged Lieutenant General. His men waited for Lu Ten’s frontal assault and surprised the entire Fire Nation vanguard, with Song personally dueling Lu Ten. With Lu Ten’s death, his entire wing routed. Song took his twin dao and scabbard and had Lu Ten’s body sent back, wrapped in an Earth Kingdom flag, carried by Fire Nation soldiers. The rest, they say, is history. Only recently was he finally promoted to member of the Council of Five, as he kept rejecting previous offers as "I'm kind of busy leading an offensive right now". Despite this, he's a war hero to the masses of Ba Sing Se.   


Back to the War Meeting:

The Mechanist stepped off from standing on the side of the room to stand in front of the Five. He was carrying a batch of scrolls of various sizes under his right arm. I sat down on the chair next to Toph, the two of us were off to the left of the table. The Mechanist started his prepared speech by thanking “Her and His Imperial Majesty for bestowing upon me the honor to attend a War Meeting” but Toph cut him off and said “listen, just get to the inventions part, thanks.” So he did. 

He opened up the scrolls and placed them on the world map. He turned to Toph and held up a blueprint for one of his “recent ideas”, a “massive battleship that could take on a Empire-class and barely take a scratch”. Toph let him keep monologuing, most likely for the sake of humor. When he finally finished with a “what does Your Majesty think?” she whispered for me to tell him something, so I did. “I regret to inform you that Her Imperial Majesty would love to see what you are talking about, but she’s blind” to which Toph waved her hand in front of her face and grinned. The Mechanist recoiled with a  _ I-think-my-test-driver-just-died _ look. Meanwhile, Toph sat back down, laughing, and continued playing with her metal ball. 

I got up to look at them because  _ I’m supposed to be running this right? _ Then, upon realizing I didn’t understand what any of these schematics meant - _ I grew up on an island of fishermen and only learned to read because Kyoshi herself wanted literacy- _ I sat back down and said “oh that looks quite nice, present it to the Council of Five”. So he did.

He presented the following ideas to the Council of Five to be approved/mass produced. Note, I have no idea what all the technical schematics are so I’m just recording whatever I remember was mentioned:

The tank from earlier, which doubles as a troop transport. He asked to give the five of them a demonstration during the meeting, to which they agreed. 

A three man Tundra Tank knockoff, except using the same earthen plates the bigger tank has. The third man fires earth disks out of the top, just like firebenders. Earthbenders can also use the open hatch to manipulate earth from the ground itself. 

Fortified earth disks, as a ammunition type. Small, easy to store, hard hitting. 

Trucks, akin to what I just rode here in. They can transport weapons and supplies. Other variants can act as modernized carriages.

Powered aircraft. One wing, small engine, two hour flight time. Good for reconnaissance in rough terrain.  


A knockoff of the Fire Navy cruisers, with turrets across the ship filled with fortified earth disks. To be powered by coal. 

A few concerns were raised by the Council. General Song stated that “wouldn’t the Protectorate just destroy the earthen tanks with earthbending?” The Mechanist nodded, but before he could respond I stood up, all eyes turned to me, and said “Her Imperial Majesty wishes to begin training of a metalbending corps”. How eyed Toph, she grinned, and he asked me “how would that work?” I leaned over to Toph, she whispered in my ear, and I responded. “Well, she’d train them in metalbending, of course”. Afterwhich, Toph tossed her metal ball across the room and recalled it. The Generals nodded. 

General Fong asked “shouldn’t we have more technology that non benders can operate?” to which the rest of the Council and room broke out laughing, except Jun  _ because he’s the polite one _ . At Toph’s command, the Generals went outside to watch the prototype tank roll around. When they returned, they were all quite satisfied with whatever they saw. Song was murmuring to himself "if only we had _that_ at Ba Sing Se the first _and_ second times around. We'd never have lost the walls".   


The Meeting was continued on with updates on the Wars. Avatar Aang hasn’t been spotted since the Day of Black Sun, he is presumed to have disappeared off into hiding in the Western Fire Nation. Azula, Zuko and Druk haven’t been spotted, either. Spies in the Fire Nation colonies claim that the Fire Lord is constructing a fleet of ‘airships’, the Mechanist corroborates that “yes, they have the designs to build heavier than air war balloons”. Hong recovered from his one-man defeat at the hands of the Mad King and marches northwards. The Mad King before I did, bid his respects to the Queen, then ran back to Omashu. He gave Toph a gift of rock candy and promises "a neverending supply of rock candy" from Omashu.  


Toph has ordered the Infrastructure Initiative be expanded in all directions. “I want a earthbender flattening and fixing every inch of my roads and the train lines be doubled or tripled in width”. It was a massive demand, but with hundreds of thousands of loyal men, it was and is possible. The Generals agreed with this proposition, four monorail lines allows for four times as many supplies carried across the Kingdom with haste never seen before. I corroborated this with my own experiences with the monorail, which just solidified the need for more infrastructure. Fong asked about the “modernization in the rest of the Kingdom” to which I told him “that can wait, can’t it?”

A messenger arrived during the Meeting to inform Toph that Hong wishes to parley and come here, with only a few guards, under a flag of truce, to discuss “matters more important than our war”. Against the wishes of the Generals, Toph accepted the proposition. How then proceeded to approve the Mechanist's requests, and that "I'd give you five thousand men to build whatever you need to build". With an Imperial Seal, he approved mass-production of both tank models, the truck, ammunition, and "whatever that flying thing is".   


Finally, How dispatched the Generals to go on offensives. Fong would lead the main forces to go defend the Serpent’s Pass. One hundred thousand men. Jun would circle around the mountain range to the south of Ba Sing Se and lead an equally large force to cover the crossings west of Chameleon Bay. Toph stated that “I have personal requests for the General of the West and General of the North” to which both kowtowed and would wait in Ba Sing Se for further instruction.

At the same time, I asked her “where are we going to get the metal for the new tanks?” Toph smiled. 

“Wait and listen, Kyoshi.”

Then we dismissed the War Meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If people are interested, I'll write a one shot covering the life of General Song.  
The three new generals are references to generals fighting on the Han side during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Song is Huangfu Song, the Aged General. Jun is Zhu Jun and Zhi is Li Zhi. 
> 
> Next time, the Rebel meets the Queen! Titles ensue.


	27. World Leader Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Populist Rebel Hong arrives to inform the Earth Queen about world-ending events around the corner and some old friends and enemies return.

Went back to my room to write down the past entries, _ Commander? General? Warlord? _ Hong is arriving and I must make for the session that will _ definitely _end with at least one guy getting killed. 

Populist Warlord:

I ran off to the Badgermole Throne and was presented with a laid back, literally, Queen sitting on her throne, picking her toes. As usual, flanked by the illustrious duo Shi and Jie, stiff faced as always, with Wuhan standing beneath her. A courtier, I still don’t know their names despite months of rule by the way, ran past me and kowtowed. “He has arrived, Captain”. Wuhan nodded, then looked at me _ because I’m supposed to speak for the Queen _. “Your Majesty, the rebel-” and Toph kicked the ground and knocked me over “yes Kyoshi I know he’s here”. Suki helped me up and I scuttled over, the floors freshly squeaky, thanks Imperial Janitors, and stood in front of the Imperial Consort’s Throne. The Badgermole Throne was covered by a transparent veil in the colors of the Imperial Sigil. Then he arrived. 

Hong was dressed in simple peasant garb and was accompanied by a man who introduced himself as “Xian, the Warlord’s Aide”. Xian was surprisingly armored, a cuirass’s outline showed beneath his simple garbs. Xian sported facial hair similar to How’s and wore a yellow-dyed conical hat. I walked away from my chair, ornamental scabbard at my side, cape tail running along the ground, and took my place in beneath the Badgermole Throne’s dais. As Queen’s Speaker I was going to do my job _ damn well _. Sweat beaded on my forehead, all my hair tied up formally didn’t help. Wearing the Imperial Armor didn’t help either. I coughed to catch my breath and spoke. 

“May I introduce Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen, the Lady of Gaoling, Daughter of the Spirits, the Blind Bandit, the Liberator of Ba Sing Se, the Reformer, Colonizer of the North, inventor of Metalbending, Queen of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Years”. 

The rest of the crowd kowtowed out of respect at her formal titles. I could _ feel _ Toph smirk at all the titles. “No matter who you are, you are expected to kowtow before Her Imperial Majesty”. The guards stood again. Hong strutted forwards, the Royal Guards got into stances. Xian spoke for him. “This is Hong, former Magistrate of the Si Wong Protectorates, named as Lord of Sandbenders and Protector of the Oppressed”. Toph chuckled from behind the veil. Xian put his hands behind his back and continued. “His Highness, Hong, has come to the ancient capital to ask for a truce with the Usurper Queen.”. I didn’t even need Toph to tell me what to say. “And in what position are you to ask us for the truce, Hong?” Xian had a concerned look on his face. Hong spoke up. “Because if we don’t call a truce, we will both be exterminated”. Toph kicked the ground out of laughter, causing a mini-earthquake. I continued doing my job. “Maybe don’t be so vague?” Hong looked around the room, as if he was looking for something, and continued. “The Fire Lord has a fleet of airships and he intends to burn down the Earth Kingdom in a month”. 

The entire throne room burst into laughter. “The _ entire _ Kingdom? That’s impossible!” I stated, before joining in with the laughter. Hong’s voice was one of utter confusion. “You don’t understand. Has the Queen never read the accounts of Sozin’s comet?” Toph quaked the ground and had her veil uncovered just to wave her hand in front of her face. Then the veil was put back. Xian stated angrily: “Not only is the Queen a young girl, but she’s blind?” I smirked. “She might be blind but she’s the one causing the earthquakes so if I were you, and I’m not, I’d not mess with the fifteen year old”. Hong grabbed Xian’s shoulder and pushed him aside. “I don’t care! Sozin’s Comet is coming. Every firebender becomes a one man army!” The rest of us didn’t take him seriously, though. “So what? We have a massive kingdom.” Hong’s voice became more desperate. “The Fire Lord doesn’t care who currently sits upon the Badgermole Throne. Usurpers, claimants, the Avatar himself. We are all his enemies. We must band together!” I responded. “Again, it's a massive kingdom. He will come and we will smash his forces”. The rest of the room cheered. Hong threw up his hands in defeat. “Fine, but will you at least allow a truce?” Toph got up and emerged from her veil, slowly walked down the stairs and over to Hong. She barely got up to his chest in height.

“Naw, you’re still rebels. Go back to your army so I can kick your ass fairly”. So he ran off. “Good job, Toph” I walked over to her and comforted her. In Toph fashion, she earthbent me away. “I know, I’m just the best!” and smirked. We dispersed for lunch and I chose to eat off on a dining table atop the thousand steps, Suki joining me as always. We were informed by Dai Li agents that the duo had left the Outer Wall during lunchtime.

The Dragon Returns :

The first thunderclap was our warning. “Isn’t it the middle of the day, Suki”. Suki nodded. “Was that an earthquake?” I asked, putting down the moose-lion meat I was eating with utensils. “I mean, it's-” 

A second thunderclap. We both jumped out of our seats and screamed at the same time “lightning!” and I ran for one of the Royal Guards. “Sound the alarm! Azula has returned!” The guard ran off and as Suki and I raced for the Throne Room, a horn sounded and the bells began ringing. I found Wuhan, running through the halls, “get to the Queen! I’ll take the Guards and mount a defense!” I told him. He bowed, “may the Spirits protect you” and ran off. Suki and I were already dressed for combat. Me in Imperial Armor, the same as Royal Guard armor only I wasn’t wearing a helmet at the moment and was wearing a cape with the Imperial Sigil. Suki in her Kyoshi Warrior makeup and light armor, fans and katana at the ready. 

I ran for the thousand steps again and shouted commands. Royal Guards were already in defensive formations. A passing guard gave me his helmet. I stood atop the steps as this was the best position to overview the events. I had the men prepare SARs, Surface-to-Air Rocks. More and more guards filed out of the main doors, running down the steps. People were shouting “for the Earth Queen” as they passed. The air went silent, save for the pitter-patter of running feet. Even that eventually ceased as hundreds of men formed up, preparing. Waiting. A few of these people, _ a few _, out of hundreds of guards, survived Azula’s previous attack. Then the bison flew overhead, coming from the northwest. 

Of Sky Bisons and Dragons: 

The dragon banked upon reaching the palace and coiled around, as if the rider had to pick a target. I shouted “Artillery! Launch!” and a horn blared. The rocks were flung upwards at the hovering dragon, but Druk dodged all the shots with the elegance of a dancer. The beasts were only a couple hundred feet above us. The bison turned around, having crossed the grounds, and flew back towards the dragon.

A fireblast left the bison’s back, missing the dragon.

Azula responded with a lightning bolt. 

“Launch!”, a horn blared, another set of projectiles fire at the distracted dragon. One rock hit the right wing, knocking him around. Azula, disoriented, likely, could only respond by punching blue fireballs. Aang responded with air swipes and punching a fireball, causing a small explosion. Projectiles launched again, whizzing over Appa and just missing Druk. Aang turned Appa around and came down low. I tried waving my hands to get someone’s attention, and someone must’ve noticed because Appa turned towards the top of the steps and flew over. “Your Earthliness!” Aang shouted, lighthearted in the face of death, as always. Appa roared and they hovered just above the stairs. “Keep the dragon low and our men can hit him”. A different voice called out from the saddle, body ducked behind the rim. “that could work" Aang took off, avoiding a blue flame. I ran down to the Inner Courtyard, realizing that standing in such an exposed position could mean death. Appa coasted low, pulling Druk after him. "Launch!" The artillery was much more effective. Druk was pummeled with earth projectiles, with Azula blowing one up with firebending. Azula pulled him vertically and vanished westwards. Appa, visibly exhausted, crashed down in the Inner Courtyard. I ran towards the sky bison. Aang jumped off first. Katara hopped down. Followed by Sokka with a slam. And finally, the mysterious voice from earlier. Prince Zuko. At the same time, Her Imperial Majesty arrived at the top of the steps. “Arrest him!” I turned and yelled, hand on hilt. 

Dai Li agents shackled him with rock gloves before I could get to him with my blade. Where were they? Hiding behind pillars, on rooftops and likely many more places. Guards ran up to the downed Prince and got into stances while I held my sword hilt. A loud rumbling indicated Toph had arrived via wave. Zuko’s mouth was not covered, and he uttered out a “guys, you really should’ve warned the Earth King that I was here”. I sheathed my blade again and gave the group a once-over. “He’s with them” Toph stated. “Your Majesty-” I began, but Toph shushed me. “Have him unshackled. He’s telling the truth.” The guards released him, he stood and dusted himself off. 

Guards around us cried for "Blood! Blood of the Dragon Prince! Blood of the Traitor!"

Toph called for a private meeting that “Twinkletoes, Sugar Queen, Man with Boomerang and the Hothead were cordially invited to”. As she walked away, she manipulated Sokka’s boomerang from out of his back pocket and started whirling it around in the air, much to the shock of the Avatar and his companions. “You can metalbend? Stop metalbending my boomerang!” Sokka's face went all confused. Thus began Sokka’s short-lived attempt to give chase to his boomerang. Surprisingly, she could only send it fifty feet or so in front of her before she lost control of it.

The next time the four of them saw the two of us, we were dressed in our Evening Robes despite it not yet being evening, Toph was reclining on the Badgermole Throne and I was writing on a desk next to my side-Throne. Zuko bowed deeply, royalty-to-royalty, and begged Toph for her forgiveness. He began pleading that “he saw the error of his ways and after seeing Azula roast the Water Tribesmen-” but she cut him off and said “okay”. The other three looked at her in surprise. Katara asked of Toph “how could you forgive him so easily? We only believed him after he killed Combustion Man”. Toph smirked. “Because I can tell when someone is lying, of course”. Sokka shouted, justifiably annoyed “We could really have done with her on our team, you think?” 

Toph pardoned Zuko, personally, but stated “stay incognito. Everyone from the guards to the lowest peasant wants your head”. I nodded, Zuko scowled, then turned back to face Toph. Zuko stated, as a token to prove his loyalty, that “my father has amassed an airship fleet and intends to burn down the Earth Kingdom come Sozin’s Comet”. Toph asked for as much information as he could provide. These were massive vehicles, capable of supporting enough explosive payload to level a town, each. The Fire Lord has a dozen of these. So Hong’s warnings were true. Nonetheless, Toph repeated her previous statement. “He can burn whatever he wants, if Sozin’s Comet lasts one day, we will wait one day and counterstrike”. The group looked back and forth between Toph and I with horrified faces. I explained that “we’d just destroy the giant balloons before they arrived”. Aang explained that the Comet is arriving next month. Toph repeated her statement that “we’d act with neutral jing and wait for them to arrive.” 

Toph clarified her earlier call for being incognito. “Wear a hood at all times, Hothead. I wasn’t there during Black Sun but many others were.” Zuko nodded and pulled his hood over his head. Suki walked through the main doors right afterwards. “Suki!” he yelled out and ran over to her and hugged her. The rest of us could quite clearly hear her say “hey I’m at work right now, wait until later, thanks!” and detached him from herself with a leg swipe. Toph had another idea at that moment. 

Toph stood up and walked over to the group, Zuko was the only one smart enough to bow. “Twinkletoes, can the Consort and I go with you on a camping trip tonight? I’m bored of sitting here and miss the sweet sweet feeling of raw earth”. Aang nodded while Katara darted back and forth between us, confused. "Sure thing, Your Earthliness! We'll go camping tonight!"

_ Toph’s just doing this to test Zuko’s loyalty, isn’t she? _ _No, she actually loves sweet sweet earth._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> World-ending events don't scare Toph.  
People want Zuko's head and its only by the grace of Toph that he's still alive. The future may not be as kind.  
Next chapter, campfire stories and Sokka inhales a rose.


	28. The Field Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven people, five homelands, three members of royalty and one night to go camping. How fun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my favorite chapter when I wrote it. Even now, with the entire story outlined, I think this is in the top three favorite chapters.

HIM Entry XXVIII:

Trying to go on a spontaneous camping trip tends to cause chaos. 

Departure:

Toph had the group come with her to the Imperial Bedroom. They gave her privacy while she changed into her wrestler outfit, stating that “these robes are too stuffy”. While she was changing, I gave them a tour of our quarters. “Its so big” Aang, Katara and Sokka murmured this and similar statements. Zuko waved his hand “it's not that big you guys, my bedroom is the same size” and he and I laughed. I told Zuko that “maybe they don’t get it because two of them grew up in an igloo and the Avatar’s a monk”. The guards watched this hooded figure follow me around the room. We avoided using his name, referring to him as Lee instead. We didn't want anyone getting spontaneous ideas.

After she returned from changing, it was my turn to change. I opted for peasant garb that was made by the Imperial Tailors at my request. It looked just like the clothes we would wear on Kyoshi Island, except the Imperial Sigil was printed on the front. I also had my hair done in a topknot, with a pin that had the Earth Kingdom emblem on it. Suki dressed in her Kyoshi Warrior armor.

This 'let's suddenly go camping' decision caused the Ministers to panic. “Who will be the interim Earth Monarch?” they’d cry. “No need, I’ll be back tomorrow”. They couldn’t really complain to her because she was automatically right. Something that shocked Aang, Sokka and Katara despite already having been here. Meanwhile, they asked who this hooded figure was but Toph always shot them down with “if it ain’t your business it ain’t your business” and she walked off, fingers tousling her hair.

We settled on camping in a mountain range south of Ba Sing Se. Wuhan promised to guard the Palace while we were gone. We went to the top of the thousand steps, when Aang blew his whistle and Appa flew over. We boarded Appa, Toph personally hating the idea of flying. The Avatar’s companions have lots of stuff they carry along with them. Meanwhile, Toph and I had one bag and it contained food. Momo skittered about, inspecting the bag. _He’s probably a seal jerky fan, too. _

The Ministers were still complaining as we sat down, Toph bonked them on the head with metal earth coins. Aang turned to us from sitting atop Appa and stated “hold on tight!” and shouted “Yip! Yip!” and we took off. Toph, justifiably, was holding on to the saddle for dear life, screaming. Katara made a joke about "how would your subjects think of you if they saw you" but Toph ignored it, busy _screaming her lungs out_.

Interrogative discussion of interrogation:

We spent an hour flying across Ba Sing Se. The city's pretty beautiful from the air. Everything's on a grid, except the train line which runs from one place to another. While flying over Lake Laogai, Sokka asked “hey Toph, what’s that?”, pointing at a small entrance along the lakeside. To which she stood up -correction, I helped her stand up by holding on to her- and waved her hand in front of her face. Sokka slapped himself for that, “sorry”. I told them “oh that’s just the entrance to the secret underground brainwashing and interrogation facilities that the last head of the Dai Li ran”. And I looked around at the slack-jawed riders and cringed. Katara turned red and screamed “is it still being used?” I shrugged. “Probably not. Costs too much money to operate and Toph’s a human lie detector”. Somewhere inside me, I felt like I was shooting myself and the entire Earth Kingdom in the foot. But I kept going anyways.

“The last head of the Dai Li was filled with lightning bolts after refusing to cooperate with Azula when she tried to take over the city”. Looking around, again, I tried to relate to them as I was confronted with two sets of raised eyebrows and a ‘_ That’s-rough-buddy’ _. “Hey, you guys have a world-ending embodiment of the spirits flying a mythical beast that hasn’t been spotted for a century, there’s a blind girl sitting next to me who invented a whole new form of bending and we just had a skirmish with a teenage girl firing lightning bolts at us while flying a dragon. Secret interrogation bases shouldn’t be an eyebrow raiser”. Zuko nodded, he seemed to get it. Sokka kept his eyebrows raised and Katara shot me a “yes, it is an eyebrow raiser”. So I clarified. “No, we don’t run a secret interrogation center, to the best of my knowledge. All the prisoners were released by Imperial Decree. Toph just interrogates them personally.” Katara turned towards Toph. “You do that?” Toph raised her hands defensively. “Yeah, so what? Ask Fire Prince Hothead if the Fire Nation does the same”. Katara got annoyed. “But the Fire Nation is evil!” Toph took her finger and pointed at her eyes, trying to roll them. “Am I rolling my eyes correctly? I hope so”. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Katara asked, getting redder by the second. Zuko jumped in, figuratively. “Well, yes, we interrogate our prisoners in the Fire Nation. We don’t have human lie detectors but we do have flames and lots of incentives to drive prisoners to cooperate. Namely flames”. Katara looked at him and back to the two of us and went “see, they’re evil!”, hand gestures and everything.

Toph tried to explain reality to her but it seemed to be failing. “Sugar Queen, you do realize that we are a hemisphere-spanning Kingdom right? You can’t possibly imagine we politely ask every assassin to give us their secrets?” Sokka rubbed his chin hairs and murmured to himself. Katara, meanwhile, seemed to be in shock. Zuko cut in again. “It actually sounds like your methods are much more peaceful than ours. I imagine a prisoner is brought forward and Toph waits until he confesses”. Toph nodded. “Yup. I can do it while I’m at lunch. Or lying down. Or practicing metalbending. I've even tried it while-” I shushed her, Zuko got it. “See, Zuko, you aren’t that different from us”. _ In retrospect, that was probably not the best thing to say. _

“Hold on, gang, I found a nice spot over here to land!” Aang called out from the front. Appa slowed down and, with all the elegance of one of those dust-stepping troupes performing in the Lower Ring, landed. 

The Campsite:

The land we are going to camp at is a valley in between the large mountains south of Ba Sing Se. A calm river ran through it. The mountaintops are barren, but the mountainside and most of the valley is comprised of a thick forest. Old, abandoned farmhouses dot the valley. Overgrown farmland, meadows, are scattered between the forest. Aang landed at one of these meadows, maybe two hundred feet to the east of the river. Katara and Sokka immediately unfurled tents, while Toph dived off the bison and cheered “oh sweet sweet earth” and began rolling around, kissing it. Sokka pointed at her and laughed, Katara shushed him before a world war was started. She then punched the ground and made her own earth tent. Making everyone else jealous. “So is she going to not let anyone else in, Suki?” Katara asked, looking at Suki, angry that Toph isn’t part of the team or something. “Nah, watch and learn.” I said, smugly. I walked up to the tent, knocked twice, and Toph dropped the door and let me in, then slammed it shut again. The next thing we heard was Katara pounding at the door. “Why. Won’t. You. Build. Us. Tents?” Toph yawned, “I’ll do it if you stop”, slammed the ground, and made three tents pop up surrounding a fire pit. “Also, you could tell Twinkletoes to make his own tent. He’s an earthbender afterall”. I asked to leave and was hastily deposited back in the lush meadow. Sokka disappeared to go get firewood, Toph reemerged, and Aang asked to duel the three of them “since Sozin’s Comet is coming.” Suki and I opted to go watch the fight from a safe distance. Momo, meanwhile, went off into the trees to chase bugs or fruit or something. He's Momo. I have no idea how Sokka hasn't chopped him into dinner yet.

Aang yelled and the three benders gave chase. We ran through the woods to go after the four of them, eventually coming upon the river. When I say we, I mean I tripped over the first fallen log we had to cross. Depth perception, and all. Suki held my hand and we casually strolled over towards the river. _ Thanks Suki _ . We found a large rock to sit on and relax, enjoying the spectacle. Zuko went first, launching fireballs at Aang, who countered with his own. _ When did this happen? _ Katara joined in, diving into the water and turning the river current backwards, sending whips and waves at Aang. Their yelling was inaudible, but it seemed as if Katara was annoyed that Toph hadn’t done anything yet. So Toph waited. And waited. The other two kept sending attacks at Aang, who at this point was also in the river. He’d use a mix of air or waterbending to counter most attacks. It was obvious that his firebending was terrible. Katara launched a water wave at the landlubbing Toph, who finally decided to act. And caused the earth itself to vibrate. Suki, for some reason, was bored and “wanted to go bother Sokka instead”. The rumblings of Toph’s attacks were quite audible from the base camp. As were the yelling strikes of Zuko, who decided that every attack needs a loud yell to accompany it. _What, did he listen to Sokka's attacks and think that was smart or something?  
_

We eventually found Sokka being terrible at chopping wood. A young birch posed too much for him. We surprised him, desperately dueling the tree, with our laughter. “Ah! The Earth King! Suki!” _ I’m not the Earth King _ . Suki corrected him. “He’s not the Earth King, you know”. Sokka, confident in his knowledge, said “yes he is. The Earth Queen is the husband of the Earth King. You are the Earth King”. The two of us started laughing, and I said “do we really want to lecture him on succession laws and royalty laws?” Upon hearing the word ‘royalty’, Sokka went “hey, hey, stop discussing kingly matters Your Earthliness, this is a camping trip, we’re supposed to relax and have fun”, tossing his axe-club-thing backwards in the most nonchalant _I-just-lost-my-axe_ smirk I've ever seen.

Suki and I had abandoned Sokka to his effortless pursuits and found an old dead tree, upright, nearby. It was missing its branches and was mostly just a trunk. I kicked it over and the tree trunk split in two. Suki and I picked up one of the halves and lugged it back to base. Upon dropping it into the fire pit, it broke into even more pieces. We returned to the forest and collected armfuls of pine needles and small sticks and dropped those back in. Our hands were dirty, our faces were sweaty and my damn topknot was undone. An hour of yelling, screaming and rumbling later, the four of them returned. Covered in dirt and soaked. Sokka, meanwhile, was busy groaning as he tried to pull down an _ adult _ birch tree. "If you had your old bow, I bet you could pin his 'wolf tail' to the tree" Suki laughed. "Probably" I said, disappointed that I, in fact, haven't found time to practice with a bow.

Aang dried the other three with his airbending while Toph went off to grab some food from Appa. Or, try and fail to as she can’t see. Katara marveled at the fire pit, saying “that’s a lot of firewood. This should easily last us through the night”. Sokka, as if by magic, appeared _ at that very moment _ to go “yup, I spent a long amount of time preparing this”. Toph, despite being many feet away, yelled “no you weren’t!” Sokka groaned, and pointed at Suki and I, smiling wide. “Unlike Sokka, we actually learned how to collect firewood, even when we have no tools” and Suki gave a quick bow. 

Campfire Stories:

The sun finally set behind the jagged peaks and we sat down by the fire, now lit -thanks Zuko- and shared quality time. Toph sat to my left, Suki to my right. Katara to her right. Aang to her right. Sokka to his right and Zuko sandwiched between Sokka and Toph. A seven person circle might be confusing but nobody seemed to mind. Aang was quite interested in hearing the adventures Suki and I were on. I was interested to hear how the former Avatar hunter-turned-refugee-turned-nationalist turned traitor and befriended the Avatar. Sokka was quite interested to spend some alone time with Suki, as I could tell by his eyebrow raising and failed attempts to turn tree logs, sticks, his club and various objects that possess holes into euphemisms. Katara was interested in Monarchy policies. Toph was interested in playing with her metal ball. 

We recounted our story of rowing away from the siege and accidentally ending up on a Fire Navy cruiser. Upon mentioning “the honorable, if tough, Captain Jee” Zuko lit up, asking about his facial features. Then it hit me. “Yes, Zuko, Jee mentioned having to deal with a ‘annoying one-eyed teenager’ before, it's probably the same guy”. Turns out, Zuko really likes the guy. I repeated the story of travelling through Rebel lands that I had told Toph days ago. I even told them of the meeting of the Mad King, something that made Aang get all inquisitive “where is he?”. Turns out, Aang was friends with Bumi as a child. "The Mad King was once the Mad Prince", _huh, what a surprise_. Meanwhile, Sokka was delighted to hear of the Mechanist’s arrival in Ba Sing Se and “I helped him come up with the idea for an engine powered airglider”. _ It's definitely possible. Sokka is as much creative as he is head-over-heels for seal meat and Suki. _

We shared stories of our childhoods and lives. Aang, of his time growing up with the monks and how he misses the Abbot, Gyatso. Katara and Sokka of their time growing up in the Southern Water Tribe. Their meeting of the Avatar and their journey from iceberg to Imperial Palace. Encounters with earthbenders, panda spirits, Avatar Roku, Aang ending up in prison and eventually turning into a giant fish at the North Pole. Then their journey southwards, encountering General Fong, almost getting murdered by Chin the Great’s descendants, then getting lost in a swamp. From there, Aang had a vision of a blind girl in the Earth King’s robes and they started northwards. At some point, they heard about the attempted coup and flew, nonstop, to the Palace, assuming that if they got their in time they’d rescue the Earth King. As _ Records _ has mentioned, they arrived a week late, but Aang’s strange vision came true. 

The first thing Zuko shared about his childhood was as follows. “So my mom kinda murdered my grandfather so my father wouldn’t murder me because my father wanted to change primogeniture to ultimogeniture and my grandfather said no”. I wasn’t that surprised, Toph was distracted and Suki was busy fetching Toph some food. “I mean, that’s just succession problems in a nutshell, right?” I half-joked. Zuko nodded, serious. Katara and Sokka seemed interested in Zuko and the Fire Nation at that moment, and kept alternating with questions. Sokka asked “what’s the funniest story you heard as a kid”, I don’t know what he was hoping would be the answer. Zuko gave his classic Zuko squint as if a) he never had any funny stories or b) Sokka was busy practicing Sokkacasm. _ That’s certainly a word. Certainly _.

“Centuries ago, the Pho Zel dynasty controlled the Fire Islands. While the records don’t have conclusive dates, we do know that they tried to keep the Royal blood as pure as possible. One Fire Lord got drunk on cactus juice and set himself on fire, assuming that he’d become a dragon. Before his guards could get to him, he died of immolation. We are told this story as young children to teach us that just because we can produce fire doesn’t mean we are immune to it. Anyways, his son, who happened to be his brother as well, defenestrated himself because he believed if he did, he'd become a dragon. That set off the Unification Wars which led to my great-great-great-grandfather to take control.” Everyone, except me, stared at him in confusion and shock. “And this is funny because?” Katara asked. Zuko shrugged. “Come on, none of you laughed when you heard that a Fire Lord dived out a window?” I raised my hand. “Yes, Earth King”. _ I guess the name stuck? _ “I read this story previously and I found it hilarious”. Zuko walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulder. “See, maybe it's just a joke that world leaders get!” Toph avoided sharing her backstory, with the argument that “anyone that needs to know it knows it”. I respected her wishes and didn’t share anything. She did reveal her point of pride, “I’m the greatest earthbender of all time, you know.” Making sure to kiss her fists.

We moved on to a retelling of the Day of Black Sun. We shared our perspectives. I told them how Suki and I ran along the cliffs and watched everything happen. Katara cut her off when she got to the lightning and said “I thought I heard you!” Katara, Sokka and Aang spoke next. They described what we saw. Flying over the battlefield, disabling towers, helping where they could. When they landed, Zuko ran off first, with Aang, Sokka, Katara and Iroh running after him. The Fire Lord was waiting for them all. Azula arrived just as they kicked down the Throne Room doors. She wasted their time with acrobatics, at first. She told Zuko that “he’d earn Father’s honor and love...” with Ozai nodding to this. Iroh, meanwhile, tried to counter Azula’s words, but to no effect. Zuko cried when he mentioned that her poison took advantage of him at that moment. Imperial Firebenders poured out into the Throne Room to act as fodder.

Aang was able to bypass enough of them to charge the Fire Lord himself. 

He lunged forward with airbending -Ozai closed his eyes- raising his staff for the final blow, but halted his staff mere inches from the Ozai’s head. He told the Fire Lord that he wouldn’t kill him as it went against who he was. Ozai reopened his eyes and instantly shot a lightning bolt through Aang. Katara yelled out, but she only had her waterskin. The Imperial Firebenders were all defeated. Iroh began breathing fire, sending Azula backwards as Katara ran forwards to grab Aang. Sokka carried him out as Iroh performed massive feats of firebending. He redirected Ozai's massive firebending waves into Azula, causing her to stumble and wasting both their times. He didn’t go back on the bison, he dueled Ozai while Azula chased the rest of them. Zuko, now poisoned, followed Azula, firing fire blasts at the fleeing team. Katara used her spirit water on Aang while at Hakoda’s temporary emplacement. Thanks to her water, he was revived. Zuko claims that once he saw Azula’s burning of the entire Water Tribe fleet, he was knocked out of his daze. Katara and Sokka both let out tears when being reminded of the Navy's destruction. Zuko explained that he then followed them in secret to the Western Air Temple, using a small war balloon. He tried to come in chains but Katara tossed him out, he finally earned their approval after killing Combustion Man, also known as that guy with explosives for brains.

Suki bumped my shoulder and asked to go out and chat. We excuse ourselves just as Aang was retelling how “I was thinking back to the origins of airbending, the sky bison. So Sifu Hotman and I travelled to the original firebenders and met some dragons…” We went off and sat at the edge of the glade. Suki had a worried expression, which made me say “which important official did I accidentally off this time?”, referring to the time when I was practicing archery and mistook the Magistrate of Chin Province for a bandit and stuck him through the chest with a arrow. The Kyoshi Islanders labelled me a hero ever since, Chin only used that as further justification to send militia over to try and bother us.

“What if Aang fails at defeating the Fire Lord during Sozin’s Comet?” I laughed as while the question was sensible, I already thought it through a hundred times. The War Plans didn’t even have the Avatar in the equation, that’s how useless the Council of Five considered him. “Zuko tells us he will be flying in a massive balloon, right? So we just shoot him out of the sky.” As the group laughed in the distance, Suki and I discussed the future of the Earth Kingdom. She asked about the Colonies. “So rumor has it Toph plans on leading an invasion of the Colonies, right?” I nodded. She asked how their governance would work. I told her what I was thinking. Ideas that were flying around my head for weeks. “I think we should keep them at the same level of autonomy that they were. If the Council wants to annex them that could cause rebellion and unnecessary bloodshed. We should let their own officials govern them on the lower levels of government. We’d still have to insert an Earth Kingdom garrison for defensive purposes, of course.” I also told her of my experiences in the Colonies. “The people there were mostly frustrated with the Fire Nation slowly removing their identity. Replacing Colonial leaders with Islanders, as the locals call them. Increasing taxes, demanding more soldiers for the yearly levies.” As I said to her, I intend to push for the Colonials to be given more autonomy and less tax obligations. Instead, we’ll take advantage of their fruitful metallurgy industry and their superior education standards and expand those across the Kingdom. Suki seemed to agree with most of my ideas, except “how do you know they’ll like you taking over?” I shrugged. “It’s just a guess. I can’t imagine they prefer a Fire Lord sitting half a world away while their lands burn. Toph’s a woman and if nothing else, they can take our monorail lines and cross the country in a week”.

Bored, we got up and practiced our wrestling while we talked. We were only lit by the distant campfire and the moon. Suki won every attempt, but when we transitioned to stick fighting, I knocked her legs out from under her most of the time. Most. I might only have one eye but I spent a decade whacking people with sticks. We both beat eachother up quite hard, but that's not uncommon for the two of us. Back on Kyoshi Island, we'd spend whole afternoons doing that. We both got really sweaty, as a bonus.

Sokka, Seductionbender:

By the time we returned from our discussion and subsequent ass-kicking, everyone retired to their tents. Suki and I opted to find Sokka, she wanted to bother him all day so why not him first. His whalebone club stood next to the flap, resting on the ground. I led the way in, opened his flap and encountered something very peculiar. Sokka, lying on his chest, hair untied, desperately, _ desperately _ trying to appear seductive. A few candles were lit around him. I don’t know when he had the time to buy these, but there’s a market for _ everything _ in Ba Sing Se and Appa _ was _carrying lots of stuff.

“Why hellooooo…” he turned towards me and _ inhaled _ the rose he was biting on, eyes went wide. He sat up and went “Your Earthliness, yup, who else was I expecting-” but was cut short by Suki opening the tent flap and joining the tent crew. “Suki!” he yelled. _ Can you not call me Your Earthliness? _ He looked at Suki like he just got whacked in the face a few times and whined, “Suki, don’t tell me you dumped me for the Earth King?” I turned around, biting my wrist to avoid laughing, and went wide-eyed at Suki. She responded by covering her mouth and visually darting back and forth between the two of us. After we finished giggling, she went “no, he’s still my cousin.” Sokka slapped himself and very audibly went “oh.” Suki whispered into my ear that she wanted alone time with Sokka, I patted her on the back and went “good luck, Sukes” and went for the tent flap. As I left, I shouted “she packs quite a rack!” Sokka said, as seductively as he could, “I know, right”. A few minutes later, while I was sitting on one of the stone seats around the campfire, now just some embers, Sokka screamed “why are you holding a knife?!?” Sending birds flying. _ I did warn him. Kyoshi Warriors carry a knife in their wrappings. That way, they can never be ambushed while they sleep. _

Toph emerged from her earth tent with a slam. She was quietly, as quiet as she could be, yelling at the disruptive noise. She was visibly exhausted. _ Nobody wakes Toph _ . She sat down next to me and got to work picking on her toes. Katara emerged from her tent at some point, probably awoken by Toph’s quiet yells, sat down to Toph’s left and played with her hair. She looked over at the two of us. Just as she opened her mouth, Sokka grunted as if he was trying to free himself from a hole in the ground he got trapped in. “Is my brother-” she began speaking but Toph put a finger -her toe picking finger- up to shush her. “Could he be any less noisy?” I asked. Toph, channeling her Imperial wisdom, asked “Madam Fuzzy Britches, are you feeling embarrassed?” Katara released herself from Toph’s finger, stood up, hands-on-hips and yelled “Yes, I am quite disgusted by this. Also, Your Earthliness, isn’t that your cousin in there being deflowered? How are you not getting angry as well?” I shrugged, setting her off even further. Toph blew her bangs off her face. “Katara, I’m not like that. The Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors is a very strict person. She wouldn’t let herself sleep with just anyone. If Suki’s cool with it, I’m cool with it.” Katara looked at me strangely. I threw up my hands defensively, mimicking Toph. “What? On Kyoshi Island, if the girl doesn’t like the guy she throws him out. Thus, if Suki’s comfortable with it, I’m cool with it.” _ That didn’t help _ . “I’m used to these things, Katara.” _That also didn't help._

Then Prince Zuko emerged from his tent. “Evening Your Majesty and Your Earthliness, did Sokka get his...you know, no offense Katara, stuck in a tree again?” Zuko punched the fire pit and lit the fire again. Katara kept standing there, flabbergasted. Probably being traumatized by the events transpiring. “So, Prince Hotman, got any whiskey? I might join Sokka and go sire some bastards if you can get me some.” Toph asked, grinning. At the mention of drinking, Katara snapped out of her shock and went back to being the mother of the group. “No, Toph, we don’t have any alcohol, Aang’s traditions prohibit it.” Underbreath, Katara whispered “but I could do with some”. 

Toph could only embarrass the group even further. “Aw, but I feel the intensity of Sokka’s-” I covered her mouth with my hand. Katara gasped, her hand over her own mouth as well. I released my hand, assuming she was done. “...and I can’t wait to feel that inside-” Nope. Hand covering time again. Katara fell backwards out of shock and landed on the grass with a bang. “Zuko, you want to drag her back to her tent or should I?” He looked over at me with a _ just-kill-me _ scowl. “I’m sorry, Zuko, but when Toph’s sleep deprived she starts fantasizing of having bastard children to kill in her later years.”. He gave me one of those _ you’re-serious? _ expressions, followed by a _ you’re-actually-serious _expression. “You’re going to have to help me carry Katara back to her tent. Or you can drag her, I don’t really care”.

Katara reawoke with the two of us looming over her. She yelped. “What are you two doing?” Zuko sighed. “We were trying to figure out what to do with your body-” _ That was the worst possible way to say it Zuko _ . She yelled out “Zuko! How could-” but he already slapped himself in the face. “My apologies Katara, he meant to say ‘we were trying to figure out which of us would carry you back to your tent’” and I bowed. She got herself up without us and said “Thanks, I need some me time to recuperate from what I just experienced” and she sighed, huffed and puffed and walked off. Toph broke free from her 'daze' and grabbed me from behind while Zuko and I were having a eye-off. “Hey, Kyoshi, let’s go find somewhere to relax away from the grunting”. _ Turns out, Toph just likes embarrassing people. She’s level headed at all times of day. _

Toph led me over to the river, clearing a path through the woods with earthbending. We heard splashing and Toph assumed it was Suki. Now, unlike Toph, I _ was _sleep deprived. I dived into the slow river, assuming that Suki and I could have some water-related fun or participate in some Kyoshi Island dares. Nope, it was Katara. She yelled when I jumped in, then yelled “I’m naked, don’t look at me”. The moonlight showed that she was, indeed, naked. I asked her “why are you naked?”. She said “I said I was going to clean myself off”. I averted my eyes, and went "what in the name of Agni?" and thrashed my way out of the water. Katara was, literally, cleaning herself off.

Toph, thanks to her magical feet power, can sense vibrations all over. She's told me, many times, that if she doesn't put her feet on a pillow when she sleeps on the ground, she will feel people across the entire Upper Ring doing things. Occassionally, she wakes me up while I'm trying to sleep with "did you feel that guy?" comments. Obviously, the answer is no. _Please, Imperial Archivists. When I have a heir, please censor this last section._

Sokka greeted me when I returned. He wasn't wearing pants. I didn't really care, I was tired. Zuko was passed out somewhere in the field. Sokka gave me the goofiest smile I've ever seen in my life, and said “Welcome to Team Avatar, your Earthliness”.

I wasn't even going to question it. I bowed, went to Toph’s tent, and collapsed next to her. 

_ I’m a part of Team Avatar now _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed reading it! 
> 
> Next time, Toph plans out the Colonial War and the clock ticks down towards Sozin's Comet.


	29. The Colonial War Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Earth Academy gets started, the Council plans a war, and tradition be damned, we need that metallurgy.

HIM Entry XXIX:

Forgetting that Zuko is still a public enemy is not a good idea. 

Wanted, Prince Zuko:

We flew back to Ba Sing Se the next morning. Zuko wasn’t wearing his hood, we forgot to tell him. When he disembarked at the Inner Courtyard, the first one off, Dai Li agents immediately swarmed him and chained him down. Toph and I jumped off afterwards, causing the Dai Li to kowtow. “What’s the meaning of this, Your Majesty?...” one of the men asked me, eyes ducked beneath his black conical hat. “Did you realize this is Prince Zuko, Your Majesty?” Toph shrugged and released his bindings. “He’s with the Avatar, today". The guard stuck his fist into the ground “my apologies, Your Majesty, but he’s still an enemy of the state, is he not?” Toph and I exchanged whispers while Aang, Katara, Sokka and Suki joined us. “By order of Her Imperial Majesty, place Prince Zuko under house arrest within the Imperial Palace!” The Dai Li arrived and grabbed him again. He gave us one final, disappointed, look, as he was carried away. Aang, meanwhile, ran after them yelling “but he’s not an enemy anymore?” Katara and Sokka, meanwhile, looked at Toph funny. “I thought you said you pardoned him.” Toph  _ turned _ towards them. “I might have pardoned him, but if we leave the number three public enemy out to wander as he wishes, someone will attack him to get revenge for all those atrocities his kin have committed. You two dunderheads don’t realize that he’s safer in there than out here!” 

The Imperial Earth Academy for Girls:

I had walked away, as a pair of Kyoshi Warriors were talking to two women dressed up in Earth Kingdom soldier garb. The four of them turned to me and bowed. The two women stated how honored they were to be in front of me. The Kyoshi Warriors, meanwhile, went in for the hug. “So, who might you two women be?” The two women bowed and introduced themselves as the first woman to pass all the entrance exams in addition to having the highest marks. They were both in their late twenties. As a result, they were, along with ten other women not present, were helping to build the new Academy. While Toph yelled at Sokka and Katara in the background, the four of them led me to a building off on to the eastern wing of the Imperial Palace Grounds. It appeared to have once been a university or scriptorium. A large block with small windows, a couple stories tall. Earth Kingdom flags hung from the top. The women informed me that this was going to be the Academy proper. Under the tutelage of professors from Ba Sing Se university, this Academy would have everything a regular school has. Off-campus dorms would be located in the Upper Ring “if Your Majesty wishes”.  _ Apparently Toph made these people responsible for coordinating their own actions? _ A couple of these women were lower nobility from the Colonies, having been given a full education as kids and young adults. As such, they probably were able to coordinate everything. 

Off to the side of the large block, a large piece of land surrounded by metal fences. The land was being developed as we speak. Well-like holes were driven into the ground and filled with earth disks. According to the women, as many of them -exactly half, actually- are Colonials, they took inspiration from the “fast paced Firebending training” and “came up with the idea to build training grounds for earthbenders on the same fast-paced principle.” According to them, when training called for them to manipulate large amounts of earth or work as a team, they could just use the ground. But in one-on-one duels, they decided to standardize their dueling system “to compete with fast-paced firebenders”. 

Upon further inquiry, the Academy appeared to be restricted to only the daughters of nobility who could pass the entrance exams. The Colonial, Seka, states that this choice was a copy of the Fire Nation’s Academy. “Afterall, the only people that are literate are the children of nobility”. She’s not wrong. Seka continued, saying that the Academy would host benders and non-benders.  _ I recall Toph wanting a school of only the most elite benders, no? Did she change that or did it get lost in translation? _ All individuals would have to take the same intensive courses in history, governance and diplomacy. For non-benders, a track that would have them be taught by the Kyoshi Warriors. For benders, various members of the Royal Guard would teach them bending. There were electives available, a concept pulled directly from the Royal Fire Academy; the main one being military tactics and planning, with Lieutenant Generals brought in to teach that. It sounded like an impressive feat, if successful. The women had everything they needed, already. Afterall, they had the Queen’s personal seal on most of their paperwork, skipping most of the bureaucracy. The hardest part so far was actually getting a meeting with the Army to have officers brought in to teach all the courses. They just had to refurbish the old rooms and obtain students. 

I thanked the four of them for their time, they thanked me for mine, and departed for the Imperial Palace.  _ I’ve got bigger matters to concern myself with. _ Two guards saw me and offered to call over an Imperial Carriage, but I declined the offer. As I walked into the Inner Courtyard again, I spotted that Teo kid flying around in his plane. Appa was off sitting by the Avatar’s old guest house. General How, himself, was standing atop the thousand steps watching Teo dart around. I hailed him, he rode down to meet me, and we exchanged greetings. I asked how the Mechanist’s plans were going. He told me that a couple more ‘aircraft’ were currently in production down in the Middle Ring. Meanwhile, a couple dozen caterpillar tanks of both sizes were already constructed down by the Agrarian Zone.  _ Turns out, having the full support of the Earth Kingdom behind you can help speed things up _ . I asked him what transpired while I was gone but he didn’t know. He took me up the thousand steps with an earth wave, then bowed and departed for the Council’s Chambers as “there’s pressing matters to attend to.”

Fire hardens Earth:

Upon reaching the Badgermole Throne, I encountered Toph, sitting there as if expecting me to come. “I’m glad you could finally arrive, how was the Earth Academy going?” she asked. I was going to ask how she knew but I remembered that she can sense and track individual figures from hundreds if not thousands of feet away. It was obviously small talk. “The girls are about ready to open it up. You approved of having non-benders learning there? I thought you wanted ‘a school for the elite’?” Toph shook her head. “No, I wanted a school for whoever was qualified to get into it. I allowed them to restrict entrance as they see fit. All I’m asking for is results.” So I countered her with another question. “What if a student is from the Colonies and is a firebender? Wouldn’t that cause controversy?” Toph shot back at me. “Why would I care? If she can work together with her earthbender classmates then we can achieve something never before seen. I hear the Colonials have a good metal industry thanks to this mix.”  _ Speaking of fire _ . “Where’s Zuko, Toph?” I wanted to know where he was because I wanted to speak to him. “He’s in the guest bedroom, I was just going to go speak to him right now” and she jumped off her throne, accompanied by Shi and Jie and walked past me towards the room. I gave chase. She made a right turn, walking down the halls, and in less time than it takes to reach the Imperial Bedroom, she reached his bedroom. Dai Li agents stood outside and opened it for her with the warning that “he hasn’t spoken since we put him in here”. I joined her. Toph waved her guards to wait outside and “if anything happens, you’ll know.” 

“Prince Hotman” she announced to the blanket wearing figure. He got up and was surprisingly calm. “I know why you put me in here Toph.” and he bowed. “We aren’t here about that. We’re here about something else.” she sat down on the bed next to him as if they were brother and sister and not rival members of royalty. “Let me guess, my throne? Did Iroh suddenly return?” Toph laughed. “No, silly. I’m here to ask you about the Colonies”. Zuko raised his eyebrow. “What’s there to ask? Sozin created them. Base of operations for any land invasion of the Earth Kingdom. The Colonial fleet’s based in the massive harbor of Yu Dao. Thanks to its metallurgy, it functions as a navy yard for most of the newer ships.” Toph stood up, summoned her metal ball from her pocket and twirled it into a coil, a dagger, a star and finally her arm bracelet. She took her hand and pointed at Zuko. 

“Hotman, I’m taking those Colonies and you’re going to stay with Twinkletoes.” Zuko nodded along, “I don’t see the problem. We did take it from one of the previous Earth Kings. I’m sure Aang and his traditions would-” Toph cut him off. “Fuck tradition” and stormed out of the room, saying something inaudible to the guards. I gave him a bow and ran after Toph. As we walked down the halls, two Dai Li agents were escorting him, behind us. Toph yelled out that “someone summon General How, I’m going to the Council Tower”. As we descended the thousand steps, a motorized carriage drove out to meet us, accompanied by cavalry guards. The Dai Li agents dropped Zuko off at the Avatar’s guest house and Toph and I boarded the Carriage, now with actual seats and a door. The sides and the roof was made of metal. 

The Colonial Campaign, Phase One: 

We were greeted by General Song, bowing deeply. He escorted us into the War Room where the other two Generals were already standing. As always, they greeted her with pleasantries and compliments. Toph sat down on her Throne to the side of the table while I stood in the center. I explained that “Her Imperial Majesty wishes to launch an invasion of the Colonies”. How looked surprised. “But we just sailed across the world for one and it failed-” Toph interrupted him. “How dare you say it failed? Did we lose any men in the Siege of Caldera City? No. Because I had us turn around and escape with our lives. I sensed that if we stucked around we’d die.” How kowtowed and begged for mercy. Toph pardoned him, probably because of his competency. “You’re a bunch of strategists, do some strategy!” She barked, blowing her bangs as the breeze blew them down. The rest of us looked back and forth at each other. 

First, we gave an overview of the Colonial -and by extension, Fire Nation- forces. Navy? Our spies say they sent their entire force west to blockade the Mo Ce. Ground Forces? The 3rd and 4th Army were obliterated a few months ago during the Liberation of Ba Sing Se. They lost so many men they took any remaining regiments and merged them into the 3rd Army, disbanding the entire 4th. The 1st Army under High General Mak still guards the Fire Islands. The 2nd Army, transferred to General Shinu, marches across the Southern Earth Kingdom, facing rebel insurgencies. Of course, General Shinu is "a fool who wishes to besiege a sand dune". Personally, I predict he will meet a early grave at the hands of some sandbenders while chasing phantoms across the Si Wong. Nobody willingly marches across the Southern Earth Kingdom. He's going to get harassed by so many barbarian tribes, daofei cells and deserters from three nations, he might as well just defect himself and join one of those roving bands we can't reach from Ba Sing Se. The Fire Lord still hasn’t called for conscription from Islanders despite rumors that his volunteer pool has completed depleted. Meanwhile, resentment brews within the Colonies as men and women of fighting age are conscripted to replace the thousands upon thousands of men killed in Shinji’s Blunder. 

As for our forces. How explained that a majority of the Earth Kingdom’s standing army departed under Fong and Jun the previous morning. Only seventy-five thousand men, give or take ten thousand, remain in Ba Sing Se. The Territorial Guard pool hasn’t been drained and thanks to the female recruiting initiative, most provinces can now afford to send a full battalion to Ba Sing Se should they be needed. Toph interrupted our discussion on troops with “but we don’t need hundreds of thousands of men right now, do we? We have tanks”. Indeed, we now have enough tanks, of either size, to outfit couple squadrons of armored vehicles. Furthermore, the Infrastructure Initiative is still expanding. More train lines are slowly being constructed across the Earth Kingdom, and in some places, more parallel lines are being added. Furthermore, we now have scout aircraft, er gliders, to be piloted by “a bunch of crazy nut jobs who signed up for this kind of stuff” according to How.   


After a long discussion on what to do with our available men, Song concluded to “attack Yu Dao and spread out from there.” How wrote down an order to have all tanks -and the aircraft- be sent “as far west as the train lines run” and that the westernmost train station would be the military depot. The westernmost depot currently was located in the montane valleys a few miles north of Yu Dao. In writing, it sounds confusing, but it made much more sense when he actually gave the order. Likewise, he ordered the remainder of the standing army to be sent west along the same train lines. Wuhan presented an Imperial Seal, Toph and I agreed to the order, and he pressed the Seal down and Zhi took it and ran off somewhere. 

The rest of the War Plan would be devised once we reach this army depot, according to How. Toph requested to personally lead the forces this time. We departed for the Imperial Bedroom to get changed. Ming coordinated the courtiers to grab our Summertime Robes along with any other possessions we’d need. I got dressed in my Imperial Armor, had my hair done in a queue this time -thanks Ming- and grabbed my Imperial Helmet. It looked just like the Royal Guard helmets except painted blueish-green instead. As always, Ming complimented my “ready-to-kill-someone” attire and Toph and I set off for dinner. 

We sat at the top of the thousand steps, legs dangling down the stairs, when a horn sounded. Song arrived, leading the vanguard of his forces. He was going to put on a demonstration for us. I applauded their arrival while Toph went “eh, you see nothing once you see it a thousand times”. He rode in to the Inner Courtyard on an armored ostrich horse and shouted “Long Live the Earth Queen!”. The men behind him that filed in repeated it. Then he kowtowed. And they followed suit. Horns blared. The Kyoshi Warriors accompanied us up here to watch the demonstration. Far beneath us, the four figures of the Avatar and his companions emerged through the Outer Courtyard. I didn’t hear Aang blow his whistle but Appa rose up and flew over to him. The four figures mounted Appa while Song announced that he was going to give a fighting demonstration. Eight soldiers walked forwards and bowed. Each one was wielding a large warhammer. Behind them, a detachment of the force, maybe a hundred men, marched forward and lowered their pikes. Song dismounted and his ostrich horse was pulled away. Appa flew up to our height and hovered in the air next to us. A few feet from us. Song yelled up to us, apparently as part of the demonstration. “Your Majesty, I will now duel these ten men with just the twin blades of the Crown Prince!” and charged at the ten of them. Meanwhile, I could  _ hear _ Zuko yell “Crown Prince?!?” He stood up and called over to Toph - enjoying some moose-lion - and I “Which Crown Prince?” I looked over at the raging teen and in a massive momentary blunder, spoke up. “He wields the blades of Lu Ten. He received them as a reward for killing him in a duel-” but I cut myself off because it hit me to whom I was speaking to. His working eye seemed to glow with flames but Aang stopped him, saying he’d die if he did this. Zuko murmured that ‘he’d get his revenge in time’. Good thing Toph couldn't be bothered to have him executed for treason and I was more interested in the duel.  


Song, Aged Warrior:  


Song ran forwards, slicing the earth sent at him in half. He’d trip a man with swords and they’d be knocked out. The pike wall advanced, signifying his boundaries tightening. Two more men attacked him, trying to strike with the warhammers, but he blocked both at the same time. He was able to slide away from the strikes and kick the men out from under them. The pike wall surrounded him, slowly hemming him in. The remaining men assaulted him, some with the hammers themselves, some with small earth blocks sent by the hammers. He used their encirclement to his advantage. A man would send an earth block at him, he’d dodge it and it’d knock over the man behind him. Eventually, when one man was left, he cut the wooden staff in half and hit the man in the face with the hilt of one of his dao. The crowd cheered. The demonstration was over. The forces departed, Song departed somewhere else.   


Song and Zuko:

Song arrived, he just returned from archery practice. The two met up in the Outer Courtyard, I just happened to be walking by at the time. Zuko drew his own twin dao upon spotting the roly poly man, pointing them at Song, yelling "I will regain my cousin's honor!" Song gripped his scabbard and let out a bellowing laugh. "That's hilarious, my boy. Maybe you're honor will save you like it saved Lu Ten!"

Zuko ran forward, lighting his blades on fire. Song let Zuko barrel forwards and blocked both dao with one while smashing his head in with the other. He fell over, shaken. Song sheathed his blades, assuming victory. Instead, Zuko kicked a fireball at him. Song turned, laughed, turned back and walked away. Zuko popped up like a fighter and lunged forwards with twin fireballs. Song must've heard them or something, he jumped to the left and dodged them both. With a heel-turn expected of twenty year olds, he drew both his dao and casually strolled towards Zuko. Zuko's face became petrified, he fell onto his back and slid backwards, punching fireballs at Song. Zuko surprised Song, jumping up and diving forwards with a flame punch. Song gave the boy a good kick in the shin, knocking him over _yet again_. But Zuko didn't care. He might slowly be retreating across the Courtyard, but he kept getting up and trying to hit Song with _something_. But Song just sliced the fireballs out of the air with his blades. Finally, Zuko seemed to fall over from exhaustion. And yet, his legs still propelled him backwards while kicking fire waves forwards. Song's leisurely stroll caught up with Zuko but I caught up with both. "Stop this idiocy, General Song!" I yelled out to him. Song turned to me and kowtowed. Zuko's face, faintly lit, seemed to regain its color. He staggered up, gave me a bow, then backed away to the Avatar's Guest House, eye watching Song's every moves. Before slamming the door shut, he yelled out "one day, Song, I will fight a fair fight". Song turned to me and put his arm around my shoulder. "I've never seen a boy that relentless. His cousin was even more honorable, though. He was so honorable..." Song laughed "At least Azula finishes a problem with a lightning bolt." and laughed again. Good thing there were no Royal Guards out at midnight this one night. That, or the Dai Li that definetely _are_ out were given secret orders to "keep a eye on Zuko but don't intervene in his actions". 

I'm writing this right before going to sleep. Soon, we will set off for the military depot and the Colonies. _I really hope Zuko doesn't get himself killed before we can put him on the Dragon Throne_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Modernization reflects the fact that if the Earth Kingdom wasn't so bureaucratically messed up during the HYW, they could've mass modernized. Its not that hard to build train lines with a army of earthbenders. This is only the beginning, though. 
> 
> Zuko will pay for his treachery one day. 
> 
> Next chapter, the Siege of Yu Dao


	30. The Siege of Yu Dao

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Earth Queen and friends besiege Yu Dao. Action-heavy chapter. 
> 
> THANKS FOR 500 HITS! Agni, I'm amazed! Each of those hits drives me onwards to finish this passion project. 
> 
> I originally set a goal: if I get to 500 hits on this, I'll consider writing a sequel series.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I based *some* of the lessons on Toph's lessons from The Promise and The Rift. However, she doesn't have to deal with crazy people this time around. She has the Royal Guard and the Dai Li, the most skilled earthbender units in the world.

Overlooking Yu Dao from atop the mountains surrounding it, the city sparkled like a gem tucked away in a hidden valley.

The First Metalbenders:

Suki, Toph and I departed the Imperial Palace late at night by carriage. We rode to the Upper Ring train station, boarded a custom carriage made for us, and were kicked off. By the time we awoke, we were traveling through mountains. Some mountain range, unnamed. Toph wasted no time on the train ride. Wuhan, Shi and Jie would become the first metalbenders other than Toph. Their excellence at bending made them suitable candidates. Their patience made them perfect earthbenders. Toph’s battery of assaults, granted they were smaller than normal as we were on a train, broke against their steadfastness. Obviously, Toph enjoyed bossing them around and that was probably her main motive for this. Her secondary motive was to create a fighting force as progressive as an Imperial Earth Academy for Girls. 

I had the opportunity to listen in on her teaching lessons. She revealed something I noticed before. She could only manipulate metal to a certain distance. Despite this, she started out with her students by carving the metal ball, literally carving it with her fingers, into small earth coins. When dealing with metal, she was as fluid as a Master Waterbender, like Katara. She then dropped them on the ground and had the three try to control the metal. Her argument was that since earthbenders learn to earthbend by lifting objects out of reach, metalbending requires the same treatment. Earthbending is the only element that doesn’t require direct or nearly direct contact to operate. Waterbenders need a source of water close enough to them to be used, like a waterskin. Earthbenders do require a source of earth but they have a much longer range. Firebenders produce flames from their hands _ and that one guy in Shirahama who said Firebenders could only bend with nearby already set fires was clearly drunk _. And Airbenders manipulated the air. "Distance is merely an illusion." They got into horse stances and sat. And sat. She "didn’t want to hear a peep" until someone felt something. She had a courtier retrieve some bandages and she blindfolded the three of them. “All of you can sense the earth in the ground. Sense the pieces of metal, too”. The three sat there in silence. She waited. The train carriage was silent save for the whooshing of entering and exiting tunnels. 

She tried changing her technique. As this carriage had thick windows, so there was no fear of the metal disappearing out the window, she picked up the three coins, changed them into small spear points and stated “let’s try something more motivational”. She hurled them with all her might at the three and they stopped them just before they impacted. They stopped them. She ran up to the three and punched each in the shoulder. “Oh, you ain’t done yet” she screamed, trying to hold back a proud smirk, but the three of them smiled the widest grins they could. Suki and I applauded them. _ I have to hope she was going to stop those spear points before they impacted _. 

She ordered the train itself stop, it did. With a couple hand swipes she cleared off a portion of the adjacent hillside with a giant square earth block crushing trees and burying them. She then stomped the ground and created a plateau with three statues, as tall as an old bamboo grove. Each one holding an earth coin between their right thumb and pointer finger. They were lifelike except they were ten times as large. Wuhan in the middle, Shi on his left and Jie on his right. The statues were large enough that an individual scale on their armor was probably the size of a Consort's Hand. She had the train set off again and it did, the statues disappearing once we entered the next tunnel. “You three might’ve learned metalbending but I’m still the greatest earthbender in the world!”. They smiled. She grinned. Then she hurled a dozen metal coins at them. 

The Army Converges: 

We arrived at some military depot nestled in a valley. Horns blared to signal our arrival. Soldiers stood at attention and kowtowed when they saw our painted carriage. Turns out, the rest of the army had already arrived. _ Again, when you have a massive country backing you, stuff gets done fast _ . Tanks were buzzing along. What How didn’t mention was the number of motorized ‘trucks’ and gliders. _ Why did we have so many gliders _? 

We disembarked, thanking the conductor as always. General Song was standing at the train station, waiting for us. He gave a customary bow while our bannermen ran about and the Three played with their new bending ability. They took miniscule amounts of metal off a nearby truck, walking up to it and pulling it off like one would pull off bark from a tree. Of this metal, they turned into small balls. They asked Her Imperial Majesty’s permission to play with it, she nodded, so they did. 

General Song explained that the gliders were going to be manned by Dai Li agents. I asked why we were going to use them, so he led the way to a nearby stone building having been constructed. Inside, a map of Yu Dao. It was pictured to be surrounded by mountain ranges. He suggested that if we wait for nightfall, glider ‘pilots’ can jump off the surrounding rocky terrain and try to get inside the city. I argued “couldn’t we just have an army bore underneath” but he warned that “they likely have earthbenders patrolling the streets at night to listen for any drilling. They won’t expect an assault from the air”. Toph agreed with the crazy plan. 

We were led to a cliffside that was cleared out but “was designed in such a way that it doesn’t look artificially changed.” In other words, a hidden observation post. It was obvious why this cliff-region was chosen. It was the closest to the city. According to the Mechanist’s discoveries pertaining to flight, daring pilots could ride the ridge currents. Meanwhile, General Song explained that we’d have one man do recon in one of these new ‘aircraft’. And the second he explained that, I _ thought _ I knew who it would be. I _thought_ Toph would jam her fist in my face and go “The Consort volunteers” but no, it was Teo. I asked why she didn’t pick me and she whispered “well you have one eye and you’re second-in-command of the Earth Kingdom. It’d be dumb to send you on a suicide mission.” He disappeared to go inform Teo of the plan. To our left, a northern approach to the city. A valley cutting between the mountain range. Our entire Armored Corps -something like fifty tanks total- was currently plowing through a forest. Behind them, supply trucks. Trucks that carried soldiers and weapons for non-bending soldiers. Usually, that meant pikes, crossbows and lots of ammunition.

The afternoon sun sat halfway up the sky when Teo’s plane was rolled up to the edge of the cliff. The Mechanist was present and gave his son a hug and an “I’m proud of you for volunteering for this” and Teo laughed. “Flying’s in my blood.” He performed what’s called a preflight check, checking everything from the engine to the rudder. The Mechanist verified that his wheelchair was fully operational. He locked in to the wing system, the Mechanist verifying it was secure, he hit a small valve and the vehicle fired up with a loud _ brrrrr _ . Song, the Three, Suki, Toph and I were present for this “tactical demonstration”. Soldiers standing around us began chanting “Teo, Teo, Teo!” and we joined in. Toph gave him a “Good luck Wheels” and we stepped back. The aircraft was moving forwards, called “taxiing” by the Mechanist. We all gave him much more room, the plateau itself was large enough to support a takeoff strip while being obscured from the defenders thanks to leaving most of the hillside intact, hiding much of the plateau save the southwestern corner. Teo rolled back and forth on the runway a few times and the soldiers who had backed off actually _ bowed _ for him. I did, too. His _ brrring _ increased and he shot Song a thumbs up. One last pass and he started back down the runway, the noise increasing even more, and he took flight.

The Reconnaissance Mission:

His aircraft appeared flying at our level, flying along the hillside at first. Then he was spotted heading south-southwest over the city. He banked every so often, turning around in circles and doing loops occasionally. He was so high that any onlookers would probably assume he was a bird. He became a brown dot with wings, doing a back-and-forth motion over the city. He’d dive down and fly much lower over certain areas of the city. Again, nobody seemed to notice. He’d ascend again and fly somewhere else. He seemed to find doing slow, meticulous back-and-forths was best. He slowly descended in height as he repeated these sets. I don’t know what he was looking for, but if nothing else he was having a good time. An hour or so later, he turned back towards us and flew back and forth along the hillside. Sometimes he’d touch the ground but as he wasn’t slow enough yet he’d take back off and try again. After a few tries, he approached slow enough and landed early enough that he could come to a complete stop. Another round of cheering and when he finally detached himself from the plane, soldiers ran up to him to shake his hand and we all bowed on command. 

After the celebrating subsided -soldiers still passed by and congratulated him- he informed us of what we saw. “It’s what you expected. Firebenders and Earthbenders training together”. As we could tell from here, there were no ships in the docks. This news about mixed unit training means our assaulting force will have to be "much more careful." We’re still going through with the Dai Li plan. 

The Colonial Campaign, Phase Two, Yu Dao:

In General Song’s War Room, we looked back on the map of Yu Dao. The following is a rough paraphrase of what was concluded.

The Dai Li depart around midnight, that is, four hours after sundown. They will land on rooftops and meet up. Teams will be set up to attack a series of locations at the same time. Each agent knows of multiple different possible targets to choose from as there’s no guarantee where someone will land. The postal service is a top priority, followed by the main barracks, guard posts throughout the city and any watchtowers

The vanguard of Song’s forces will take position in the forest off to the Northeast of the defenses. Two hours after the Dai Li agents set out he will assault the city. This ensures that they catch most of the defenders while they are asleep. 

As Song’s vanguard attacks, the Dai Li teams will assault their chosen positions. Dai Li are also expected to help assist in the attack with an assault on the walls at the same time, knocking down the walls to allow the vanguard to take them and hold them. 

The Armored Corps will arrive shortly after, assaulting the city from the east. The rest of his force, another ten thousand men will assault the city at the same time from the north and east. 

The force is to spare anyone that surrenders, no matter the nationality. 

Toph and I went to sleep, despite it being early afternoon. We were awoken roughly two hours after sunset. We had dinner with the soldiers and Toph gave a simple speech about "kicking everyone's ass", earning cheers. I departed for the Imperial Carriage and changed into my Imperial Armor. Toph, feeling the metal armor, asked me where I was planning to go, I told her I wanted to join Song in the assault on the city. She smiled, “I’m doing just the same thing” and pulled off her robes to reveal her wrestler outfit. She cracked her knuckles, “let’s do this.” I grabbed a repeating crossbow and quiver of bolts from a supply truck and set off after Toph.

The Pre-assault hours:

As we -our bodyguards and the two of us- took a slowly descending earth pillar down the side of the mountains, commanding by Toph swinging her arms, we saw the Dai Li agents dive off the cliff. They looked like phantoms in the moonlight, silently crossing the sky. After diving away, they were only visible when eclipsing city lights, like small viper-bats. 

The vanguard forces didn’t clear the forests, just paths for the Armored Corps to take. Their engines whirred loud enough that I wondered “why don’t the defenders hear us?” Some soldiers murmured that they were probably busy having dinner and such. Other soldiers joked about ways of calming themselves before battle. “Well I tend to drink as much as I can, definitely calms the fire blasts”. Song was sitting by the edge of the forest, meditating. He placed Lu Ten's scabbard to his side and sat down, cross legged, and meditated. His bow and quiver sat off to the left. The soldiers say he does this before every battle he participates in. His veterans, most of the vanguard, say he sings this following prayer at the end of his hour of quiet meditation.

_ The enemy officer is a worthy foe, the men he commands are as fierce as their element and seek only an honorable end _ . _ My men are of the sturdiest element. May their morale be as unwavering as the earth itself. If I am to meet an honorable end, let it be in a glorious last stand. Long live the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Years! _

He rose afterwards and turned to give us a speech, first bowing to Toph and I.

“In my forty year long service to the Kingdom, we have never been honored to have Her Imperial Majesty and His Imperial Majesty in our presence to join us tonight!...” and the crowd raised their weapons and cheered quietly. “...I never dreamed of having the honor of leading the first assault on the Colonies. To retake our homeland!...” the soldiers jutted their weapons up again, those that didn’t have weapons punched the air with their fists. “...This is the first time in my entire career, in the history of the war, that we led such an assault! I can’t be the only one who was getting tired of all those defensive battles, right?...” The crowd muffled their laughter. “...With the blessing of the spirits, may tonight mark the beginning of the end of the war!” Lots of “hear hear!”s shared around the crowd. Toph walked up to next to Song, he moved over to let her speak. She coughed into her hand, flexed her hands, and spoke. “Let’s kick their asses!” and the crowd erupted in cheering, no longer muffled. At the same time, two Dai Li agents crossed the open meadow and told us “we’re ready”. Toph spat off to the side and punched the air. The soldiers punched the air. She ran on an earth wave towards the city. We followed suit, but on foot. I loaded eight bolts into the crossbow as we ran.

The Siege of Yu Dao:

Toph crossed the meadow in half a minute. The guards on the wall were all picked off by hidden rock gloves. She _ kicked _ the wall and it fell over before being absorbed into the ground with a stomp. The rest of us took another minute to get there. Meanwhile, she halted, raising an earth wall to dodge fire projectiles, turned her head left and right, slammed the ground with two stops and the rest of the corner wall collapsed. Soldiers were cheering as we ran. “Go Earth Queen!” “Save some ashmakers for us to kill!” 

Inside the city, the Dai Li agents were barely visible. Occasionally, a black shadow would hop over an avenue and we knew that’d be one of them. Once the rest of us reached the city, we spread out in all directions. Some soldiers, Song, our bodyguards and I followed Toph while other groups filtered down every side street with two main wings breaking off once inside the walls to flank the entire city. It was absolute chaos for the defenders. I was at the front of the column, of course. At one point, we came up against these dozen or so defenders, blocking the road. Toph halted, yelling "hey, there's some ashmakers for you guys that don't get kills normally!" and stepped to the side. They were scared and reckless. "We'll spare you!" Suki yelled. Meanwhile, Song and I gestured for targets. They screamed back "Yu Dao will never fall!" Song's arrow was nocked and I flashed my eyebrow.

He planted a arrow through the leftmost one, _thwick _into her neck. I unloaded into the center lad, _thunk_ right into the skull. _Two down_. One of them pulled a boulder up to fire at us, but Song pinned his foot to the ground with a arrow. _Thunk_. Another bolt into a firebender, palms lit. Suki, meanwhile, charged forwards, screaming. They all focused on her. She drew her katana with one hand while elbowing someone. _Slice_. One head gone. _Thunk_. A figure's chest was punctured. Song put on his bow again, running forwards, twin dao in hand. He sliced a boulder in half, kneed a man in the groin, then with two _swishes_ cut both his legs off. Toph was watching, er, feeling all this and was quite amused. _Slice_. Someone else's head was removed. Suki was as elegant as a dancer and as deadly as Azula. Two people attacked her? _Slice, _shoulder removed. _Slice_, cutting a man's legs out from under him while I _thunk_'d him in the face with a bolt. "Oh, I'm tired of waiting" and I ran forwards, crossbow in hand. Some idiot _ran_ at me, I kicked him in the chest, knocking him backwards into a building corner, then _thunk_ right into the eye. A completely different idiot was running at Toph, who flicked her hand, casually, grabbing the guy's feet while her other hand pillared him _in the face_. "Please don't bother me, I'm listening to this" she said, disappointed in him. _Slice_ and that was it. We moved on, the soldiers behind us cheered and cleared the road for us.

One minute, you’re sleeping in bed, the second, thousands of men are pouring down your street like a torrent of green. Shouting was heard in all directions as patrols were overtaken by what amounts to a tidal wave. The Mayor must’ve had a fun awakening. Dai Li agents occasionally found us to inform us of their objectives being completed. All the while, soldiers barged through doors, using halting when the occupants yelled out that they surrendered. 

We -at this point it was just Song, our bodyguards, Toph and I- reached the training ground, right next to the center of town, and a girl called out from the other side of the large stone field. “Yu Dao will not fall!” and she flung her meteor hammer at Toph. Toph laughed, crushed the stone projectile, pulled the metal chain out of the girl’s hands and dropped it on the ground. What we didn’t see, as it was nighttime and this ground was pitch dark, but Toph did, was a team of earthbenders that raised an earth wall. They propped a couple firebenders up with earth pillars, who proceed to shoot over the wall. One of the firebenders was knocked out of the sky, mid air. Looking left, Song was smiling as he clutched his bowstring. All their attacks were destroyed by Toph’s moving earth block, of course. Suki called out from behind us, “You’re just a teenage girl? Running this entire platoon? That’s pretty neat.” The girl yelled back “and who’s the girl that destroyed my hammer, she’s just a girl too?” Toph responded by encasing the firebenders in stone and sending the metal chain back to wrap around the earthbenders. She cracked her knuckles again. “And I’m the 53rd Earth Queen, but you can call me Toph”. I could _ feel _ Toph’s grin. She flicked her wrist and encased them in a metal cylinder, something much harder to break. As Song and Suki ran towards them, a horn blared. We all looked towards the source of the sound, a terracotta building with a green roof but with the architecture of a Fire Nation noble’s residence. “We surrender!” a man called out from the window. “The Mayor wishes to meet with the Earth Queen!” a different voice blared. Toph called out, making her voice nice and booming. “You are _ supposed _to refer to me as ‘Your Imperial Majesty’ but I’ll let this one slide!” and she flicked an earth wave over to the five story building, shaking it. 

A roly poly man with two torch-wielding guards walked over to us in the training ground, led here by some courtier or peasant. He bowed deeply and said “I’ll surrender, just don’t bring harm to my daughter”. The girl currently rolled up in a tube yelled out “Oh hi dad!” causing the man to run over, and inspect the _ hilarious _ sight. He begged for her to be released, and Toph stomped over, deliberately causing quakes and pulled the metal tube off the girl. The other benders trapped inside bowed deeply while Toph turned the large plate into a ball and kicked it away. I stepped forward, assuming it was my cue or something.

“Introducing Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen.” and the Earth forces present bowed. The man stepped forwards, now illuminated by firelight. He bore a thin chinstrap beard and an even thinner mustache. “I’m Mayor Morishita and this is my daughter, Kori”. Kori, embarrassed, waved. “We swear loyalty to you as long as you don’t bring harm upon my family”. Toph yelled "Song, discuss surrender terms with him!" and walked away. Toph sent me a small earth pebble in the back of the head, so I turned and walked over to her. She pulled me in close enough to feel her warm breath. “he’s lying.” I grabbed her shoulders and said “we’ll kill him after we conquer the colonies, okay?” and she smiled. Then she gave me a tiny cheek kiss "Now that's what I want to hear!" and punched my shoulder.

_Long Live the Earth Queen._ Also, the Comet's in what, three weeks?

"Wait and listen"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> General Song sings a prayer quite similar to the Battotai March. 
> 
> The Dai Li's glider based assault is a reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Eben-Emael . The Wehrmacht was planning to attack a heavily defended Belgian Fort, but a frontal assault would've been costly. Instead, the Luftwaffe took advantage of Germany's decade of gliding prowess to insert airborne troops in a 'first strike'. The Dai Li's stealth training made them perfect choices for an operation like this. 
> 
> Next Chapter, the consequences of the Siege. Resistance movements, policies, blacksmiths and more! 
> 
> Hey, you. Thanks so much for getting this to 500 likes. You know what's almost as cool as that? A comment! Don't even need to use your name, just be a guest.


	31. The Colonial Civil War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toph meets the blacksmiths, the Consort gives a speech and we hear about the 'surrender' of the Colonies. Also, Toph breaks some fools.  
Independence, what the hell is that?

HIM Entry XXXI:

Cut off the Dragon’s head, the body will wither.

Diplomatic Pacification:

We hosted Mayor Morishita in his former Palace. It was twilight outside when we arrived at the Palace. After walking up the stairs to his office, I saw a massive painting of Fire Lord Ozai sat high on the wall behind the desk. I told Toph and she walked up to the painting’s frame and crumpled the painting into a metal-and-paper ball. Then she kicked it out the window into a shallow grave. Morishita, his wife and Kori watched with amazement. She turned to the trio and laughed. “That’s what I’m going to do to any traitors.” The trio looked on in horror while the guards laughed. 

Toph sat down in his chair and reclined. “So, ex-Mayor, I don’t know if that was you or some little girl whining but I never heard a ‘we surrender unconditionally’ so maybe get to work on that?” Morishita bowed and stated in a voice of defeat “we surrender unconditionally and swear eternal loyalty to you”. Toph broke into laughter. Kori spoke up. “So, Toph, is it, what do you plan to do to-” she got a metal coin to the face, courtesy of Wuhan. Wuhan shouted at her like a frustrated boy who didn't get his candy today “You are to refer to her as Your Imperial Majesty, not as if she is a close friend of yours. Did your parents...” he looked at the other two “...not teach you respect? Her Imperial Majesty will now pass judgement” The parents went wide-eyed. The father kowtowed. “Please forgive my daughter’s indiscretion”. Toph shrugged. She summoned me over to speak for her, as it’s my job and all. “So, Mayor Morishita, Her Imperial Majesty has pardoned your daughter” I stated, hands behind my back. 

Toph took over from here, playing with her metal ball while holding a conversation. “So, ex-Mayor, will the rest of the Colonies give in once they hear news of your capitulation?” Morishita breathed heavily as if all the wind was taken out of him. “Possibly, I am not the Governor so you’d have to ask them your-” but he was cut off with Toph grabbing me, she spent a minute whispering directions in my ear and I began yelling. “Captain, grab his seal. I want hawks sent to every Colony. Tell them all that Yu Dao has fallen. I want the following proposition sent out”. Jie began writing while I spoke the following:

_ Surrender to and swear loyalty to Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen. Send a delegation to Ba Sing Se to pay respects to the Queen. In return, you and your citizens will be given Earth Kingdom citizenship and treated equally, no matter the origin or gender. Your current social norms won't be infringed. You will be taxed one-tenth the regular tax rate. You will be allowed to put your own officials in local government. You will not be expected to provide yearly levies. _

_ If you do choose to resist, you will face the full might of the Imperial Army. _

_ -Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen, the Lady Beifong, Daughter of the Spirits, the Blind Bandit, the Liberator of Ba Sing Se, the Reformer, Colonizer of the North, Inventor of Metalbending, Greatest Earthbender of All Time and Queen of Ten Thousand Years. _

_ Written by Her Imperial Majesty's Imperial Scribe, His Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Consort, _ _ Descendant of Kyoshi, _ _ the One-Eyed Badgermole and the Slayer of Shinji _

Morishita listened in, surprised. “Why would you do this? Why not kill us all?” I responded, partially answering his question “I want all blacksmiths and their wards roused from their homes and brought to me in this joke of a house”. Soldiers bowed and ran off. Yelling was heard in the distance as the order was repeated. _ Meanwhile, we have this moron to deal with _. I looked over at Toph, now out of her seat and walking around, stomping the stone flooring. Jie took the scroll and called over two Dai Li agents to take him to the post office. 

Down in the courtyard, the predawn twilight was illuminating a couple of figures, old men and young guys, standing side by side. They were dressed in sleeping clothes and most of them were looking back and forth between the Palace and the shallow grave with a painting in it. They were surrounded by a square of Earth guards while Dai Li agents sat on the nearby roofs, watching. “Are you the blacksmiths?” I called out. They all nodded. Toph heard this and _ jumped out the window _ , remotely making a slide for herself to descend with. They stared in awe at the blind girl, dressed in the outfit of an underground wrestler, do that with ease. She stomped the ground and sent me down the slide. “Ow, ow ow ow ow” I was sure to mutter. I dusted myself off, looked at her while she moved her hands in a _ let's-go-already _ gesture and stiffened myself to talk. The Morishitas watched from the hole in the wall. 

The Blacksmiths and the Masses:

“Introducing Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth-” but I got cut off by Toph metalbending a ball earning their _ oohs _ and _ ahs _ . _ Thanks for that, Toph _ . “She’s a metalbender” some old man muttered. They all nodded. _ Oh great, the one time we conquer a colony… _ She walked up to them and talked into their chests. “So, I hear you guys are the best in the world,” she said, nonchalantly. They nodded. “That’s amazing. Can I take you guys back to my palace?” she turned around and pointed at the building behind us. They looked around at each other. “Wait, who is this girl?” some guy asked. I shot the guards a _ good-job _ expression, shaking my head. Toph walked over to him via earth wave. “I’m the Earth Queen, I take it you’re drunk? I love drinks!” The blacksmiths, overall, seemed to be suffering from shock. I pointed at her and said “no, she’s actually the Earth Queen. And she’s blind. And as you can tell, she can metalbend. Also, she caused an earthquake last night and I’d like to apologise for her single handedly demolishing your walls”. An old man off towards the side fainted. The rest of them, young and old, murmured “how much did _ you _ drink last night ‘cause I didn’t have enough, as it seems”. 

An hour of boring discussion on metal and metalbending later, the sun decided to pop up and make looking at the men difficult as they were standing in front of the sun. Didn’t bother Toph as she monologues, obviously. The blacksmiths were more than happy to be given massive mansions outside Yu Dao and never have to pay taxes. They marched off to their shops and with the assistance of soldiers, took along anything they needed. I don’t know their current whereabouts but I assume most meeting with the Mechanist. Toph, after finishing her section, laid back on a stone seat and probably fell asleep. At least she created a raised platform -_ with stairs _\- for me to speak from. 

More people, random citizens who somehow slept through all the earthquaking, now awake for their morning routines, showed up to listen in. I repeated the concerns I overheard being voiced months ago, and as it turns out, everything I heard months and months ago was true. The Fire Nation is slowly annexing the Colonies, taking away their identity. They were very close to imposing conscription laws on the Colonies despite never having them back on the Islands. They have increased tax to the point the average shopkeeper can barely make enough to pay for their cost of living. I winged the following.

I explained that contrary to the Fire Nation, the Earth Queen would love to incorporate Colonial policies. I explained how she loves the Colonial egalitarianism and meritocracy, her creation of an Earth Academy for Girls and her desire for an increase in the education standards. The people had, thanks to the news spreading, heard of her progressive reforms. _ Of course, Toph never cared much for education and most of what I’m saying is simply what I think should be done, she never came up with the ideas, but she previously agreed to my ideas in conversations I haven’t recorded here _ . Most people seemed to love it. I believe the reasons are as follows: as I recall from traveling through the Colonies, there isn’t a full censorship on the news. A slight majority of the citizens are Earth Kingdom. A vast majority of the peasantry are Earth Kingdom. Yu Dao already has intermarriage between nations. The Earth forces didn’t arrive and burn everything down, contrary to whatever propaganda might say. Yu Dao has so much cross-nation trade that they learned the truth about the new Earth Kingdom. Toph’s a woman. Finally, people might just want change and Toph seemed like a better alternative. People chanted “Long Live the Earth Queen” after I finished my lecture.

I roused Toph from her daze with a shoulder jab and we went off to breakfast, or maybe lunch. An Earth Kingdom flag flew from the top of the Palace. While at lunch, we were informed that citizens requested to meet with us. Toph stated “just be sure they don’t bother me, I’m busy” and she devoured this locally made spicy steak. I told the guards to have them convene outside and had the guards blow a hole in the recently patched up wall. Now, I could sit on a chair, look out the window and answer multiple queries at once. 

Citizens gathered. Questions were shouted out. “Will Her Imperial Majesty allow firebenders in her army?” some woman asked. I turned over to Toph, confused. “You tell me?” Toph put down her steak, she doesn’t eat with any utensils nor does she follow table manners, so I had to make out what she was saying while she chewed on a piece of meat. Viciously chewing. Om nom nom. She also makes sure to drink entire glasses of water in one gulp. “Sure, why not?” I turned back to the crowd and repeated it. The woman looked around at her peers and said “because I’d guess a couple hundred of us would be happy to serve!” _I’m really confused_. “Why?” I shouted to them. They looked back at me like I was speaking an incomprehensible accent. I looked back at Toph and grabbed her. “You said yes, want to plan how to recruit _firebenders_ in an army of earthbenders?” She responded by pushing me away with her greasy hands. “Hey, you’re the eye guy, think of things”. So I called over General Song, who was currently asleep. Two Dai Li guys brought him to me, half-awake. “Mhm, greeting Your Majesty. Whaddya want? Time to genocide the South? Mmm my blades can't wait for some Southern meat.” he mumbled, truly a man that's lived long enough that there's few groups of people he _hasn't_ killed yet. “The people want to know if firebenders can serve in the army. A couple hundred want to volunteer.” He fell over, banging his head on the ground, and screamed. “You’re kidding, right?” I walked over to him and looked down at the aged man. “Nope. The Queen commissioned me to plan such an endeavour. So I found you since I have no idea what in the name of her I’m doing.” Song got up and looked at me, confused. “Not my problem” he walked away and slammed the door shut as he said “How”. At first I was thinking _How_ _what?_ Then I realized he meant the General. “Can one of you guys please get me General How?” I asked the two Dai Li still standing here, fists to ground. One of them nodded and ran off. I don’t know his name. I told the crowd to disperse and once we had an answer beyond “yes” we’d summon any interested individuals. 

How eventually arrived, I don’t know where he was. He spoke to them and had all interested individuals meet him at the training ground while I got some sleep in. 

The Colonies 'Surrender': 

I’m writing this from a day later. 

As it turns out, all those individuals did indeed want to join the Earth Kingdom army. The caveat was that they wanted to act as a standing army that would patrol the Colonies and the Mo Ce Sea. General How, seeing the potential in such a force, agreed. _Who wouldn't? Earthbenders can make a invincible defense, firebenders can make a unstoppable offense. Together, the potential to conquer the world. _Toph loved the Palace she was staying in so much she took it for herself. Now, it’s the Colonial Imperial Palace, with Imperial flags hung about. Or some name like that. Mayor Morishita has been given a house to reside in, under the constant supervision of Dai Li agents. 

The two hundred or so people that volunteered will form the First Colonial Battalion. They are a mixed firebender-earthbender unit. Suki spent the entire day drilling them while How was busy. From what I could tell from the loyal populace, Yu Dao was quite frustrated with the Fire Nation imposing itself on the colony. Especially in the government. Morishita's a Islander, his wife isn't but his officials are. Spies also report that a movement of Yu Dao Independantists, as they’re called, want the colony to be controlled by neither. But they make up a minority of the population. Anyone that’s publically supported this group is under constant surveillance and will be dealt with efficiently and quietly. Her Imperial Majesty, for good reason, doesn't want word of rebels to get out. The last thing we need is some underground guerilla campaign sponsored by the Crown Princess.

Meanwhile, the Mechanist informed me that with the assistance of these blacksmiths, who as we speak are getting earthbent mansions off to the east of Yu Dao, are in the process of copying the Fire Navy’s designs. This morning, their team set off to the coastline and built massive stone structures with the help of the army. A naval yard. The Mechanist also sent me a scroll that reads as follows.

_ Your Majesty, _

_ We have the Fire Navy cruiser schematics. We will set to work building one based on my drawings. It will be filled with fortified earth disks for ammunition. _

_ The Mechanist _

A War Meeting was called by General How that Toph and I attended. Well, he met us in the Colonial Palace. The messenger hawks that were dispatched yesterday morning returned with news. The colonies ‘surrendered’. The same story happened in each colony. The postal service would receive the message. The news spread quickly, thanks to town criers. The peasantry put down their plowshares and marched on the town center, demanding surrender. The Mayors always rejected, calling them traitors. In response, and to avoid being annihilated themselves, the peasants marched in and slaughtered the entire government. Entire noble houses were made extinct. They then sent a messenger hawk back to us, some notes have drops of blood on them, saying they’ve surrendered, with details of the ‘surrender’ included. We are promised "to receive the heads of every Islander noble" from the Southern Sea to the Northern Taiga.

As we spoke, however, a civil war was occurring across the colonies. Loyalists to the Fire Nation, the local garrisons and whatever remaining governmental officials that weren't slaughtered were fighting massive mobs of men and women. The sides weren’t black and white. There’s firebenders fighting pro-surrender and earthbenders, usually the relatives of the governmental officials, fighting pro-Fire Nation. Many times, the postal service has commented on how the garrison is slaughtering locals. We received hawks from not just the postal service, but civilians. People trapped in their homes, the Army breaking down the door, begging "may the Queen avenge us". Civilians commenting on the annihilation of one dynasty or the other.

There was one letter I have to mention:

_ Your Imperial Majesty, rightful Queen of the Colonies _

_ I was once in the 3rd Army, fought under Iroh, got transferred to Colonial Guard, promoted to Officer. Spent most of my Guard days at the beach. Our barracks received news of conquest and we all thought "hey, lets go have fun!". We grabbed our Flamin' Red, our ale, and toasted "To the Earth Queen and to death!" so my boys and I knocked on the door of the Commander's house. Guy came out, smug as hell and went "get to your posts! There's a rebellion! Kill any Kingdomers" so one of my guys took his dagger and planted it in the Commander's chest. That'll show him. Anyways, we ran out into the street and whaddya know, everything's on fire. We ran down the road and came upon some Islander barricade. They welcomed us in, we all nodded along. Some officer was immolating peasants and let them run around until they fell over and died. So I took my warhammer, like a pole with a hammer on it, walked up behind him, tapped on his shoulder, he turns around like "huh" and I'm like "what's up, bro!" and caved his face in with my warhammer. Shoulda seen his face. Like a drunken lust combined with alcohol and flames. I love my warhammer. Some other Islander was torching people, so when he stopped, my boys cracked a bottle o' Gin on his head. Then we set him alight. Guy ran straight into a boulder. Boulder meets guy. True love rocks. We found the Mayor's head smiling at us from in front of the center. Anyways, someone proclaimed me Interim Mayor and I had us surrender and kill anyone that didn't. _

_ Long Live the Earth Queen, Long Live the Imperial Consort -you've got the greatest job in the world bro- and Long Live the Earth Kingdom! _

_ -Kenko. _

How asked Toph and I how we’d respond to this while giving his own suggestion. He thought we should wait until the war ended and march in with our forces. Toph recalled what Hong and Zuko both said. “Isn’t there that giant fireball coming soon?” How and I nodded. “Well if we take those Colonies now, that’s a buffer against the Flamin’ King” - “I believe it’s _ Fire Lord _, Your Majesty” - “or whatever” and she waved me away with her hands. 

We were informed that the war with the Protectorate was going, unsurprisingly, well. The armies of rabble crash like waves against the two rocks that are Fong and Jun. I ordered a hawk be sent to General Fong, commanding him to "march west and pacify anyone in your path". Supposedly, his army includes the Caterpillar Tank. _Time for a trial run._

During this War Meeting, How brought up Toph’s metalbending after seeing the Three playing with metal coins. She has decided to teach metalbending to the entire Royal Guard, starting with the contingent present in Yu Dao. Between waiting for the Mechanist’s ideas and her training of the Royal Guard, we will be residing here for a few weeks.

Loban:

A citizen knocked on the door and requested to speak to the Queen. Normally such individuals are banned from entry but Toph, claiming she needs a break “from all this boring troop movements” let him in. The man introduced himself as Loban. He looks a lot like Morishita with an even thinner mustache and chinstrap. He also wore glasses very similar to the Earth King’s. “Your Majesty, I wish to commit my services to the war effort.” he said, proudly. The two of us looked at him funny, since normally people don’t just walk in and do that kind of stuff. But Toph spoke directly to him. “I’m listening…” The man states that while he is from the Fire Nation, like most Colonials, he’s not against working with the Earth Kingdom. Specifically, he claims that his homestead is located near a region rich in minerals. “After having heard of the construction of your monorail lines, I request the Monarchy personally invest in my project”. Again, nobody ever does this. As such, Toph was intrigued. “What can you get me, Loban?” He smiled. Toph walked up to him and felt him as he spoke. “Technological innovation the likes of which no man has ever seen.” I could feel the satisfaction in Toph’s voice. “How, give this man as many platoons he needs.” How nodded. “Loban, if you’re right, I’ll build you a monorail” and she sat back down. He smiled, absolutely elated, turned around and left. “Why did you agree to that Your Majesty?” Toph chuckled. “He’s telling the truth, you know. And I love progress” and she grinned that same, old, crafty grin. 

The Yu Dao Resistance: 

That night, we came under attack. Using earthbending, a woman had managed to ascend the building and jump in through the window. Suki, on guard duty as whenever Toph and I are together she’s the night guard -the Warriors are trained to be able to march and guard positions for a day and a half without sleep- spotted the intruder. Her yells woke Toph and I. Suki drew her katana, but it was grabbed out of her hands by a meteor hammer. Suki tackled the individual to the ground, revealing it to be the daughter Kori. Toph halted delivering a killing blow, instead summoning the Dai Li in to hold her. The three of us took turns asking her questions. The whole time, she was repeating that “Yu Dao won’t fall to you invaders!” We ordered the Dai Li to arrest her parents and lock them up while Toph chained up their daughter with her own meteor hammer. “I’m busy trying to sleep, I’ll handle this idiot tomorrow”. 

Before we could get back to sleep, yelling off in the courtyard brought the three of us to attention. We jumped down to the ground before the Royal Guards could get to us. From all directions, figures earthbend pillars and stones at us, Toph breaking them all. “This is no way to greet a Queen!” I yelled out, drawing an arrow while Suki drew her fans. A few fire blasts were sent at us, Toph raising an earth wall to stop them. “You are currently occupying our homes! Get out!” a young voice cried from the darkness. The three of us formed a kind-of defensive circle. “How about no?” Toph yelled back. “What did you do to Kori?” a different voice yelled. “Oh, I’m bored of talking” Toph cracked her knuckles. And with a few kicks, rode an earth wave towards that voice. Then she pummeled him with rocks, knocking him out. Suki charged the other direction. I fired an arrow and a loud _thunk_ confirmed I got a hit. Then I switched to blade because archery isn't as entertaining. The Royal Guards arrived, hemming the group we were charging in. “Is Her Imperial Majesty al-” I pointed at her “she’s currently kicking three people’s asses over there, I’d guess she’s fine”. Most of the figures formed a defensive ring, we let the Royal Guards deal with them. Toph chased a figure that ran off down the main street. “I’m going to catch up to you, y’know” she yelled, racing after him on an earth wave”. A loud thump indicated that she succeeded. She dragged the person back to be illuminated by torchlight. “Aw, no kills tonight?” Toph whined. I was about to speak up but the guards asked what we should do with them. “Toss em in the dungeons, I’m off to sleep!” Toph threw up her hands then ascended up the side of the building. 

A loud wind gust knocked us over. The Avatar’s bison crashed down in the middle of the courtyard. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Kenko. The writing process was as follows: "What if Surfer Dude + Irish/Italian New Yorker".
> 
> AU Note: The Colonial Independence movement was snuffed out before it could begin. Normally, a civil war like this would have three parties: Independant, Loyalist and De Jure, or Pro-Independance, Pro-Fire Nation and Pro-Earth Kingdom.  
The Fire Nation's Navy is annihilated, their best commanders died in Ba Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom has thousands of men in the region. 
> 
> Next chapter: Executing a traitor!  
Watch out, Sozin's Comet is coming in a few weeks.


	32. Peaceful Executions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avatar has a few choice words about The Earth Queen, Toph has a few choice words about Aang and The Consort just wants to finish the damn execution.

HIM Entry XXXII:

The Avatar in Yu Dao:

Team Avatar dismounted Appa, each one saying something different. “Your Earthliness”, from Aang. “Toph…” from Katara. “Your Imperial Majesty” from Zuko -bowing- and finally “Suki!” from Sokka, charging into an attack hug or something, being sidestepped because she’s still on-duty, and falling flat on his face. The rest of us put away our weapons while the guards dragged the _ other _ group of teens away. 

At this point, the Royal Guards knew to not immediately detain Zuko. “Welcome to Yu Dao, Avatar Aang” I made sure to put on my formal voice. Sokka helped himself up in the background, yelling “I’m glad nobody gives me such formal-” and Toph sent a pillar into his chest, knocking him upright. “What are you four doing here, by the way?” Suki asked, pushing Sokka away. “We heard what was happening in Yu Dao and wanted to solve things peacefully” Aang said, right hand up to chest to allow him to give a traditional bow. Toph laughed. “I’m afraid you’re a bit late,” I said. Toph punched the air “but you’re early for an execution!” and skittered off. “Wait, what?” Katara asked, as if the last word missed her. Toph rode back to us, probably realizing she needs the location of the to-be-executed, first. “Oh, an execution. Last Mayor of Yu Dao secretly wants us dead” the gagged Kori started screaming from our bedroom. All eyes shot up there. “Who do you have...gagged up there?” Aang and Katara said at the same time. “...and is she pretty?” Sokka made sure to include, earning Suki’s palm-slap. “What? I was thinking maybe the Consort was getting some side-” _ slap _ ._ slap. . _

Aang took a airspout up to the floor, flame in palm for a torch. “Why is-” The ground rumbled, sending Aang back out the window. “That’s not your business, is it?” Toph looked over at the now-landed Aang. “Guards, drag the rebel somewhere else!” two men from up there responded with a “yes, Your Majesty”. Katara ran up to Toph and yelled, in her face, “And what was this about an execution?” Toph pushed the ground beneath Katara aside, grabbed me with an earth fist and ran off on an earth wave. “Have the Mayor arrested!” Toph yelled out. A Dai Li agent set off along the rooftops while she ran off, me in tow, on an earth wave. “Hey, Team Avatar, just know I didn’t sign up for earth fisting” I cried out. Sokka, being Sokka, quipped “was that a euphemism or-” _ distant slap _ . Aang gave chase via air scooter. Katara probably ran back to Appa and got on. Zuko was probably thinking _ well that escalated quickly _. 

The Execution, attempt one:

We arrived at the Mayor’s house to find the Mayor, arrested, with multiple Dai Li agents having chained him and his wife up. “ex-Mayor, why did you plot against us?” the Mayor’s gag was removed and he coughed, then spoke. “I never did.” Toph stomped the ground, flipping him over. “You do realize I can sense when people lie”. The Mayor let out a slow groan. “Oh.” Toph flipped him back over. “Dai Li, take him outside” I ordered, assuming the execution was going to be my job. “Hey Toph, is the execution my job?” Toph released me from her earth fist. “Well you got the sword, right? Go get em, tiger-moose”. I grabbed my sword hilt. “Well, Mayor, at least you get to be executed by the One-Eyed Badgermole, so that’s-” and I got sent flying by an air blast. _ What in the name of Her Imperial Majesty? _

The Execution, attempt two:

“Twinkletoes, I wouldn’t” Toph said, her voice rapidly increasing. She flexed her wrists, holding her ground against multiple air blasts. “I won’t let you kill someone! Killing should never-” and Aang copped much more than a feeling. He copped an earth pillar to the chest. Other nearby Dai Li agents, likely assigned as surveillance, helped me up. “Guys, don’t get involved, leave the earth to fight the air” I whispered. Toph grabbed Aang with an earth fist, trying to not kill him, but he split it apart with her training. “You’ve done well, pupil” she said smugly. I ran inside. _ I have an execution to finish, afterall. _ The wife was dragged to some other house, or something. Loud rumbling outside plus Aang’s _ I’m-fighting _ voice signified they were duking it out. I pulled out my sword, ran up to the Mayor, and as I raised my blade for the strike, my hands were frozen still. _ What in the name of a pile of dead Northern Water Tribesmen? _

The Execution, attempt three: 

Katara ran up to me, apologized with a “sorry, Earth King” and ran off to join the fight outside. She didn't notice the squirming Mayor, though. _ I love being a nonbender _ . The Mayor, who had closed his eyes previously, looked up at me with a whimper. Two Dai Li agents reemerged and chipped my hands apart. “I owe you more” I joked. One responded, sternly “yes, you really do. We are paid treasonously low levels.” while breaking the ice apart. “Hey, bud, weren’t you all trained in an indoctrination camp or something, and thus were paid like one copper a day or something?” The two nodded. “Okay, I’ll get right on that” and I ran over to the doorway and looked out. Toph was holding Aang and Katara off. They’d send strikes her way and she’s respond with a earthwall or multiple walls. She’s sent pillars at one or the other but their agility protected them. Katara pulled water out of a fountain and tried to octopus Toph, Toph's just grab her feet with earthbending and hold her down. Aang dived at her but because he went to the Sokka School of Surprise Attacks, he'd get caught in mid-air by a earth fist, or smacked in the face by a earth fist. “Hey Toph, can you please pay the Dai Li more?” I called out. She raised both her wrists, sending the duo flying backwards. “Sure thing, every Dai Li agent gets a silver piece a day”. I turned around and nodded to the two. They smiled. “I mean, you guys don’t seem treasonous. You are free to loot from any conquered lands”. They laughed in that _ is-it-fake _ laughed and nodded. “Well we already do. That’s why we don’t rebel against you” I joined them in laughter. _ Hey, wait, the execution _ . I ran over, retrieved my jian, raised my hands for the strike and… my blade was knocked out of my hands by a _spirits-damned boomerang. What in the name of Agni? _

The Execution, attempt four: 

The wielder ran in, knocked both my fast friends on the head with a club, then grabbed my sword, sure to apologize, and ran off. “Nice sword by the way” he yelled out. “Thanks, this new one was forged by Piandao!” Now Toph had to fight the three of them. Not that she was struggling. The second anyone touched the ground, she could send them backwards. I ran over to the door, again, and watched. “Hey Toph, how ya doing?” She cracked up at that one. “Barely. Breaking. A. Sweat” she said, in pauses, as she held Aang’s airbending and Katara’s rapid strikes back. Sokka, meanwhile, was trying to chip himself out of a hole in the ground. Aang came at her with more earthbending and she shattered his earth wave into dust, reformed it and flicked her wrist, sending him flying right into Katara. I helped the Dai Li guys up. “Either of you got a dagger? I’d _ really _ like to end this man before the night’s out”. They both shook their heads. “We don’t got a dagger but his house is _ loaded _ with Fire Whiskey”. I almost fainted from happiness. “Great, let’s split some!” and the duo cheered. Five, _ or was it nine? _ drinks later, the three of us emerged outside. I think Toph won, but the street was a total mess, so I don’t know. All four fighters had fallen over from exhaustion. I grabbed my jian, muttered something about badgermoles and walked back inside. Standing next to the roly poly man rolling around the floor was Prince Zuko. “Oh, Prince. Sorry ‘bout that. I’m here to finish something though. Mind passing?” Zuko stared at the three of us, after all the other two hand their arms around my shoulder, and stepped to the side. He was rubbing his temples. “Sure thing, Your Majesty.” he bowed. “This guy here seems like a jerk who really deserves-” I swung my jian down and cut Morishita’s hand off. _ Miss _. 

Then I cleaned my jian, as is expected, while the guards released him. Morishita’s screaming was really loud which really hurt my ears during the whole five or maybe nine drinks thing. He ran off, clutching his missing hand. Zuko wandered over to the street. “Woah” was all he could mutter. “Hey, Lord Zuko, mind helping me to my room?” I asked him. “Sure thing, buddy.” he said, helping me sling my arm around him. The other two guards slunk down on the ground, out of it. “You need me to help them too?” he asked. “Not really, they don’t have names so they don’t matter,” I said with a serious voice except I was inebriated. He carried me back to the Colonial Palace, handed me over to a really surprised Suki, and I fell over at that point from a mix of exhaustion and complications from not being intoxicated enough. 

Colonies are for the Earth Nation, only:

I woke up the next day, Suki leaning over me. “Hey, last time some teenage girl two years younger than me was leaning over me, she was wearing seal blubber as a deodorant and smelled utterly delicious.” then I looked over to my right. Katara, standing there, hands on hips. _ Oh Spirits _. She mumbled out a “hmph” while I got up. “Who chopped off his hand?” she yelled out. I shrugged. “I don’t know, I celebrated the battle last night with a drink”. 

Everyone was confused. Morishita has gotten his hand bandaged up. The Avatar wished to meet with Toph and I, we granted it. So of course he brings along the entire team. Toph stomped the floor, making enough seats for all. “So, Your Earthliness, what’s the deal with Yu Dao?” Aang started things off strong. _ I guess pleasantries are for Fire Nation only? _ Toph pulled me over. _ It's gonna be one of those days _ . I spoke for her. “The Earth Queen has conquered Yu Dao, causing the rest of the Colonies to devolve into a civil war. We intend to pacify all rebelliousness and integrate anyone that wishes to join the Earth Kingdom.” Aang responded. “So you’re doing what no King’s been able to do for a century? Where will those that don’t want to join go?” Toph laughed at the second part. “Into the Mo Ce Sea unless they have boats.” The team, sans Zuko -Suki isn’t counted in these instances- gasped. Toph tried and failed to roll her eyes. “What, you expected us to pay them to leave? We’re giving an amazing proposition. Join the Earth Kingdom, no matter your previous origin. People that originate from the Fire Nation, whether personally born there or through ancestry, will be given the status of Colonials. They pay much less tax and will be allowed to install their own officials”. Aang sighed. “Can’t we do this peacefully?” Toph stood up, causing a quake and yelled at them. “Avatar, killing people is _ the _ most efficient way to solve problems. Nip a problem in the bud. Plus we’re talking about people that actively _ don’t _ want to join the Earth Kingdom. They are enemies. Please don’t tell me you’re taking their side? I don’t hate people from the Fire Nation. They want to join the Earth Kingdom, they can. We have a mixed corps currently in training. Across the Colonies, firebender fights firebender.” Toph walked around her desk and came glazed eye-to-eye with the Avatar. “I didn’t start this war, _ Avatar _. But I’m definitely going to end it.” and she wiped the War Table clean with a single swipe. 

But Aang persisted. “Why not wait until Zuko’s on the throne then have the Fire Nation citizens go back? And not just the ones who don’t like you, but anyone that’s a Colonial? The Earth Kingdom is supposed to be for the Earth Nation.” Toph asked “why?” Aang sat back in his seat for a few seconds, tapping his head. “That’s just how it’s done, I guess”. Toph froze. She froze in a way I haven’t seen in a _ long _time. I froze, too. We both were probably thinking back to the same memories. 

_ “But why do I have to marry this man I’ve never met?” Toph stood next to her parents, swelling with tears. I sat across from them, contemplating what was happening. She was dressed in a stuffy green and white dress, tied so tightly around her she seemed unable to breath. “That’s just the way it’s done” Lao responded. She began crying. “He’s from Kyoshi Island. He's in the direct line of Kyoshi. He’s got strong blood. Together, you will produce the strongest earthbenders of all time.” Her tears didn't stop coming. I could feel Lao's fear of this 'once-in-all-of-history opportunity' being lost because his daughter wasn't willing to be traded off. _

_He originally invited me for a dinner and presented this young woman as happenstance. The second I saw her and the position she was in, two centuries of blood boiled. _

_A few hours of secret conspiring later, “you like drinking too? I always wanted to try!” Toph screeched in happiness as we burrowed underground. “Oh, fear not. Us Kyoshians can’t go one day without at least one ‘clear whiskey’. But you lead the way." “Haha, that’s pretty good” she laughed. _

_ An hour -and three drinks- at the local tavern later, “let’s travel to Ba Sing Se, maybe we can infiltrate the nobility and start our own minor house or something” I muttered, half drunk. “Great idea, Kyoshi. The greatest earthbender in the world and some guy with a sword. This means I’m skipping Earth Rumble VI?” I looked over, confused. “Whatever that is, that sounds boring. You can kick much more ass while traveling north than in whatever that is”. She smiled. “Sounds good, Kyoshi.” So that’s why she has this really cool looking outfit. _

_ And like that, the adventures of the Kyoshian and the Bandit began! An abridged version: Asses were kicked, lost villagers ignored for the tavern, some prophetic woman talking about the Water, or was it Earth? Avatar was ignored because she's a crackpot and after getting lost a couple times, we found Ba Sing Se! _

I grabbed my hilt. She flung her wrist, sending the Avatar and his seat flying backwards through the wall. She walked over to him while the rest of us watched. “Listen here, Twinkletoes. And listen _ good _ . I don’t care what the traditions say. Fuck traditions. You can’t possibly tell me we should send all these people that _ love us _ back to their homeland, where they’d all be considered traitors by the way, if they want to live here. As for the guys that don’t want to be part of the Earth Kingdom, you’re free to rescue their corpses”. Katara yelled out a “what?!?” Toph backed up, walking back to her seat. “I told you guys before. All those pro Fire Nation people, people that definitely want you dead by the way, are being killed across the Colonies. You want to save them? I don’t currently control those lands, go ahead. Just realize I don’t control those lands and as a result, my men can’t defend you. I know you all love peace. I love owning land that belongs to me-” I cut her off. “Guys, both sides. We’ve got a comet coming soon. Save this for after, right?” All individuals looked at me then looked at each other. “He’s right, you know...” the hot headed prince calmly stated. “...if we all get turned to ash by my father, whoever controls the Colonies really won’t matter”. Everyone nodded, one at a time. But Toph, being Toph, made sure to get the last remark. “I _ will _ get those Colonies”. 

Aang _ agreed _ to be trained in the Palace Grounds until Sozin’s Comet arrives, two weeks and two days. His earthbending was decent but he lacks Toph’s toughness and killer instinct. 

Meanwhile, Toph has promised that any Fire Nation loyalists will be imprisoned until the war ends. She made sure to mention, in private, that "I can't speak for all those justifiably angry peasants, though".

At the War Meeting, Aang revealed what his companions did to Generals How, Song and Zhi. They started with going to the Western Air Temple. Zuko killed Combustion Man and earned their loyalty, except Katara, who had him chained up when he was brought along. They travelled across the Fire Nation, hiding out in various towns and villages. The men he rescued from Black Sun were dropped off in an abandoned village on one of the many islands of the archipelago, apparently an island over from Roku’s island. They seem quite capable to fend for themselves with fishing. 

Meanwhile, Team Avatar did the following. Aang and Zuko met two ancient dragons and learned the secrets to firebending. Katara learned the ability to manipulate the blood inside a person, allowing the bender to control them. _ Don’t get on her bad side _. They searched for Iroh and failed. Multiple times. They eventually gave up on trying to find Iroh, and upon flying east, discovered some kind of secret airbase off the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. Apparently near “a massive forest of pillars”.

Zhi screamed out, or maybe boomed out since his voice is so, so deep, breaking court policy, “that’s Wulong Forest!” We didn’t care to reprimand him for breaking court policy. “Where-” I got cut off by Toph gesturing for him to continue. “Oh, lots of Barbarian tribes use that as a dueling ground. The massive pillars make for a deadly game of hide-and-die. It’s supposedly the site of some ancient battleground but that’s just legends.” The rest of us were fixated on his words. “Describe it? What’s east of it” Toph asked. “Oh, it's in the northwestern Kingdom. Lots of barbarian tribes migrate around up there. Going east, we’d be the first colony he’d encounter. Right over the Northern Range is the Wulong Forest. Just keep travelling through it long enough and you'd probably hit his base” Toph began laughing. “So, the King of Hot Stuff plans to burn down...nothing? Sweet. The three of us will train Twinkletoes until that day comes. Get to it then!” she yelled.

Oh, we'd definitely get to it.

Sozin's Comet: Two weeks two days away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably top three funniest for me to write (refering to the execution chapters) over all of Book One and Book Two.  
Toph wants to take advantage of Yu Dao, Aang wants to do the tradition thing. The Consort wants everyone to focus on actually defeating the Fire Lord before these squabbles. 
> 
> Next chapter is a timejump to the day before Sozin's Comet. Come along and see how Yu Dao's advanced and how the world prepares.  
Sozin's Comet is going to be multiple chapters, titles revealed at the end of next chapter.


	33. The Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A two week time jump: New faces, new units, new ideas, same Consort.

HIM Entry XXXIII:

The following is a recounting of the past two weeks in Yu Dao, or as some want to call it, New Ba Sing Se. Toph and I still prefer Yu Dao. New Ba Sing Se sounds like we are trying to do what the Fire Nation did, plus this is still our land. Yu Dao is a mix of firebender and earthbender, Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom and Colonial.

Mornings in Yu Dao:

Toph and I sleep in what was once the Mayor’s quarters. Not anymore! Now it’s the Imperial Bedroom of the Colonies. Ming, the ever amazing Personal Assistant, wakes me shortly before dawn. Suki and Wuhan switch off when I wake up. Toph sleeps in while I go one bedroom over and wash up. I get changed into my Imperial Daytime Summertime Robes. I put on my ornate scabbard, have my hair done in a topknot and set off. All the while, Toph’s soundly asleep, surrounded by a dozen visible guards and many more Dai Li agents. 

My early morning routine consists of walking around Yu Dao. The stiff morning sea breeze is a wonderful thing to feel and it always makes my cape outstretched, a fun site to any onlookers. In Ba Sing Se, nobody would be out in the early morning, but in Yu Dao, lots of people wake up at dawn. Some kind of firebender-only thing. I’m bound to encounter a few firebenders going running in the morning. Young adults, both men and women. They always halt to bow to me and we exchange greetings. While most of the city is quiet, save the occasional wail, there’s a constant sound of machinery drumming off to the northwest. The factories that the Mechanist has built, currently building...something. They work through the night, in different shifts. As I pass by some of the city’s many parks, I’m bound to see a couple firebenders practicing katas. They always spot me -hard not to- and as if in sync, turn and bow deeply. Sometimes I’ll stop to watch them. Most of the time, they sit in the field and meditate. Praying to Agni. But once dawn arrives, something inside them _ clicks _ and they punch fire. A firebender, when he or she isn’t trying to cook you well-done, is a beautiful sight. The more skilled they are, the more body parts they can use to cast fire with. It’s common to see four or so people practicing, together. One individual might lead the forms, nothing advanced, and a couple others might join him or her. Lots of stances and repeated sets. Punch fireball, kick (if able, kick fireball), move forward, punch. Repeat. A elegant dance of flames.

When I finish my running or watching, the marketplace is usually beginning to buz with activity. Shopkeepers are opening their shops, others are bringing in produce and stocking shelves. There’s this one teahouse, located not far from the Palace, called the Sunken Helmet-named after some legend- that I always stop off at for a cup of tea. The owner is happy to greet me, “Your Majesty, what can I get you this fine morning?” I always ask for the special. Teahouses across the world are known for being Pai Sho dens. This one is no exception. We sip tea while playing Pai Sho. He puts off serving tea, leaving that to the waiters employed here, and spends thirty minutes playing. After one of us wins, followed by lots of congratulations from the patrons, I set off for the Palace. Spending time at his teahouse brought him lots of popularity. I’m sure some painter will present a painting similar to the Jasmine Dragon one. Which just so happens to be hung where the Fire Lord painting was once hung in the Palace. The small poster sized painting of Toph, at this point, has been spread all over the Kingdom. Even the Colonies. 

Royal Metalbending Guard:

Toph’s loud proclamations are heard long before she’s seen. “Don’t any of you lily-livers get out of that horse stance or I _ will _ pummel you!” In the 'training' ground, the courtyard, stand a hundred men. Mostly Royal Guards and nowadays also some Dai Li agents. People twice our age, veterans of a decade of war and the greatest earthbenders in the world, being yelled at by Toph. When I walk through the lines, the guards have learned to never _ ever _ get out of stance. The few that did -to bow to me- the first couple times were earth pillared. Multiple times. “Did I say bow to Kyoshi? No! I said sit in stance until your knees break!” That’s an older quote. “I don’t care if your knees break. You're entirely replaceable! Three hundred thousand men _ really _ want to die for me, so I’ve got lots of options!” At this point, though, everyone has gotten through the first stage of breaking. And the second. And the third. There's lots of earth pummeling. Though to expect less of them would be stupid, these people are drilled to stand at attention , afterall. Becoming part of the Royal Guard is a massive challenge. _Years_ of training, thousands of excellent benders compete and only a thousand are allowed in at a time. As a result, Toph's comment on being replaceable is accurate. It's also why despite the whole Azula thing, we refilled the ranks quickly. Why only accept a thousand? Drives competition. And if I've learned anything from my wrestler companion, competition drives practice and practice improves skill.

The difficulty comes when she’s trying to teach them to metalbend. Usually, she has Wuhan do this part as if she screams too much she will cause earthquakes. And she loves to scream. He tends to give the lectures on feeling the metal and identifying the metal and she, meanwhile, flings metal coins at everyone. She simply carves a small metal ball, not her’s -that’s now her arm bracelet- into a hundred metal coins. Then sends them flying out into the courtyard. She does this, repeatedly, until someone in the audience is able to metalbend. Then she has that individual, now nervous because picked out, explain what he felt to the rest of the audience. As I am writing this after two weeks of training, every single member of the Royal Guard and many Dai Li agents are able to metalbend. Clarification: They can metalbend small metal coins and small metal balls. 

Toph, meanwhile, can metalbend from some distance away. Not as far as her earthbending limit. Definitely not as far as her seismic sense limit, she’s able to sense the entire city from just the Palace and has demonstrated this skill in the War Room where she stomped her ground and made a scaled down perfect diorama of the city. Nonetheless, while she can metalbend from a distance, its when she has physical contact that she’s amazing. Just like earthbending, if she’s touching the metal with her hands or feet, she can manipulate it like it’s a fluid. She demonstrated this the other day during training, when a tank was brought in. This was one of the Tundra Tanks, left behind in the city’s armory. She touched the tank, smiled, and pulled the walls off. She walked around the tank, dragging the metal behind her. And despite however heavy the tank was, she did it like it was nothing. Afterwards, she reversed her steps, dragging the metal bank onto the tank, roughly fixing it. She backed up, stomped the ground, twisted her foot and the tank was restored exactly how it was beforehand. This got lots of cheers and fist punching. She snapped back to teaching mode and explained that “just like earthbending, the size of the object doesn’t matter. Once you can metalbend, you can manipulate a much larger amount of metal if you’re touching it.”

In the most recent class, she felt her students all manipulating small metal balls into drilled shapes. Blindfolded. Each one must feel the ball from a field of balls, raise it up and change shape with their hands. After the drill was repeated ten times, she found Wuhan’s -he was practicing this as well- object interesting. “Why is your metal ball a point?” she asked, pulling the pointed object over to her. “It’s pointy like an spearpoint but becomes cylindrical towards the bottom”. She said as she ran her hands along it. It was the size of her hand and yet she held it like it was nothing. Wuhan bowed and explained. “Your Majesty, a common ability in earthbending is the earth spike. As a result, I tried to create my own with metalbending. However, I didn’t have enough metal. So I made what I knew: a miniaturized metal spike”. Toph congratulated him, a rare thing for her to do. “Interesting. You think a small metal spike could be used in a fight?” Wuhan thought to himself. “Possibly. Why?” And she jumped down to the training ground, using an earth slide she made on the fly. 

She stomped the ground, making a set of thick earth walls. She pulled the metal spike towards her and got into a stance. “Let’s see if you’re right” and she smiled. She picked up the metal spike with a wrist gesture, rotating it in mid air. She punched the air in front of her and the metal spike went forwards. Despite its small size, it plowed right through the four thick walls before breaking the window of the house located adjacent to the training ground. Some screams ensued, but she didn’t care. She pulled the metal back to her, demolishing even more wall, all while the metal kept itself intact. “I’m proud of you. Your small metal spike went right through those walls” and she _ bowed _ to him. He laughed and the students relaxed, chanting his name and cheering. Toph stomped the ground, grabbing all their feet. “Did I tell any of you to get out of stance?” “No, Your Majesty” they responded together. “So don’t get out of stance! As punishment, you will transform your metal balls into pure small metal spikes!” Lots of groaning ensued. 

The First Colonial Corps:

After she dished out their punishment, I departed for the Yu Dao training ground. Located next to the barracks, this was an actual place to train people. Not a courtyard. _ Not that Toph cares about formalities, whatever she does is the new formality _. General How spotted me, thanks ornate clothes, and welcomed me over. His students formed into two lines and bowed, Fire Nation style. I explained that “I’m just here to watch, no pressure” and a few chuckles were heard. Otherwise, dead silence. How went back to his training. Many of these firebenders were previously sailors and they intend to go back to the navy once we have new ships. How walked over to the clearing, stomped the ground and built a mock fort to be assaulted. With walls, ramparts and enemy ‘soldiers’, just stone statues. I ran over to stand next to him while he explained whatever I couldn’t see. He drilled them in sieges today. Earthbenders would build walls and slowly push them forward, filling any holes made by the ‘defenders’, How flinging boulders at them. Earthbenders would band together to make one long wall or separate into individuals. From there, a firebender could launch blasts and dive behind cover again. How would ‘kill’ any of the ‘soldiers’ that were struck. The men would band together right before assaulting the wall, the various earthbenders making a mound of earth covering them from all sides except behind. The front earthbender would get to work kicking a hole in the wall. One he did, the firebenders burst through the opening, punching fire blasts at the mob of ‘soldiers’ standing in their way. They learned to take cover once the entryway was cleared. Earthbenders would then come in, rapidly forming earth walls. They’d also join the offensive, flinging hand sized earth disks at the enemy. The earthbenders copied the firebender’s fast paced attacks and made their earthbending more like the firebenders. Small earth disks can do as much damage as a large boulder if aimed right, but take no time to muster versus a few seconds. And in a battle, especially against firebenders, a few seconds means death. 

After this offensive succeeded, How would drop down to debrief the soldiers. What they succeeded at, what they failed to do, what they need to work on. They were capable of building and maintaining “offensive earth walls” but he scolded some of the firebenders for being exposed for a few seconds versus popping out, finding the target, firing and diving back behind cover. Meanwhile, the earthbenders didn’t get the “battering ram” assembled fast enough. He went back to drilling them on basic offensive and defensive strategy. Wall, Pillar and Fire. That’s the drill. An earth wall followed by a controlled pillar, allowing the firebender to get a shot off, then pulling the pillar down. Overall, though, these soldiers seem more than capable. They are already better trained than the barely-above-a-mob that is the Imperial Army. 

Learning to Fly:

Every day over the past two weeks, I’ve learned to fly. The Mechanist constructed a two seater for training pilots. The airfield in question was located right next to the training ground, Wuhan would meet me there after my daily tour of the Colonial Corps. I’d sit in the front, Wuhan in the back. As with all days, I was the first student of the day. Other pilots came in after I left for lunch. Flying is...amazing. It’s like no other feeling in the world. A pilot of an aircraft is but a pupil to the thousands of years of glider pilots who came before us. To learn from them is akin to learning how to fight with fists before the blade. The aircraft doesn’t just go where you want it to, like Appa. One must learn to move it forwards, then side to side, then pitching and turning. The aircraft has weight and lacks intelligence.

Flying an aircraft, you must have full control of it. You can’t just fall asleep like you would on Appa or in a Carriage. If you stop holding the controls for a few seconds, you could plummet into a unsavable dive. Pull up, and you’re in a stall. Don’t fall asleep while flying or you _ will _ die. Flying is much like a duel, divert your attention from the aircraft and you’re dead. Likewise, looking forward is nearly impossible. There’s a propeller and a control panel. All monoplanes and biplanes have handy slots built in for whatever sword you’d like to carry, though. Not that it’ll matter, flying one of these is nearly suicide as there’s no escape glider or anything. 

I am by no means a master, but neither is anyone else. Teo instructs us on the basics of gliding and aerodynamics. Of thermals and ridgelines. Hitting the rudder alone versus the rudder and the controls. Not to mention, the preflight. A good pilot takes up to thirty minutes to check over his aircraft. Granted, I relied on Wuhan for my checks. The pilot also checks the aircraft right before takeoff, checking that the controls work. Gyroscopes were once a airbender toy, but now they sit in each monoplane’s control panel. The Mechanist looted the Northern Air Temple and learned a lot about flight from just their toys.

The Mechanist interrupts Lunch:

I went back to the Colonial Palace, at this point the metalbender training has ended. It’s lunchtime. I got back in time to enjoy lunch with Toph. The spicy Fire Nation food hasn’t grown on me. But Toph _loves_ engorging these spicy dragon-moose steakswe import. I, meanwhile, had my regular, plain, smoked fish. I don’t know what fish this was but I liked it. I asked Toph why all those metal points weren’t destroyed yet. She said, mouth full “well, if my object was able to pierce four earth walls like nothing, then imagine what they could do”. As if on cue, Wuhan informed us that “The Mechanist has requested an audience with you.” Toph waved her hands, I asked if she wanted to clean up first and she began picking her teeth instead. The Mechanist came in, bowing, and was all ecstatic. 

He came to tell us he's finished building his twentieth single-seater monoplane. But why was he happy? He saw those metal pointy spikes outside and “an idea popped into my head”. “When I saw those metal spikes I thought back to ballista bolts” He asked Toph to give a live demonstration of them and she did. She dived down to the ground, breaking the stone with her head then getting up and stretching her shoulders. She made four thick earth walls, giving the Mechanist time to take in that each one was the width of a fort’s walls or a couple feet thick. _ They use my foot as the new standard of measurement _ . _ A Consort’s foot wide. I have big feet, thanks to Kyoshi. _ She picked up a metal spike, with her hand, and banged on it. _ Hollow _. She repeated the motions and the walls fell like paper, sending the Mechanist back in awe. 

She returned to the Throneroom to continue the discussion. The Mechanist stroked his beard and seemed to pop up with a second wind or something. “They really do have potential.” He started, as if he was thinking out loud. “What if we could fire those metal spikes?” Toph didn’t stop her chewing. “Wha’ you mean, ‘ire ‘hem?” She responded with a mouthful. “If we could fire them out of a ballista or something similar, they could pierce anything that isn’t metal...” I was nodding along, unsure of where this was going. “...They are hollow. That means more projectiles for less metal. But a ballista wouldn’t be accurate would it?” Toph put down the bone she was chomping on. “You need something that surrounds the metal projectile to aim it.” The Mechanist took a minute to think. “What if we built a metal cylinder to surround the metal point, that way the only exit is forward.” Toph took that as an excuse to dive out the window again. 

She pulled some metal into a cylinder, wide enough to fit one of the metal spikes, and made earth pillars to hold it at her chest level. “Kyoshi, get me the Captain!” she yelled. “Wuhan, Queen wants you” I called over to him, waiting outside. He ran in, looked around and then looked in the direction of where my hand was pointing. He jumped out the window _ and stuck the landing _ . “Captain, I want you to launch this metal projectile out of this metal tube.” Wuhan felt the tube and the projectile. “Well, the tube is exactly wide enough for this projectile. The projectile is hollow. It can only go forwards, now a matter of where.” He rotated the tube so it pointed nearly vertical and faced it towards the beach. He grabbed the projectile, stuck it inside the tube and took a stance. Toph smiled. “Good, pupil. Remember, if you focus on the coin, you won’t pull the earth around it” Wuhan let out a small smile. “I’m focusing on the projectile, not the tube around it”. He physically punched the projectile and sent it _ flying _. Toph asked where it went, the rest of us were busy applauding him. The projectile flew upwards for about ten seconds, before it reversed trajectory and came back down. With a massive smash, it crashed not far from us, sending stone in all directions.

We met with the Mechanist again. He presented us with the following. A metal tube would be constructed, mounted on some sort of rotating platform. Nonbenders can change where the tube’s facing and it’s angle with various handles. A metalbender is needed to load projectiles, deemed ammunition, and fire them. The metalbender would punch the metal projectile to launch it. He theorized to put an explosive warhead in the front of the projectile, just like his bombs. He said that he should have a couple of these “warheads” ready for Sozin’s Comet, in two days. He requested a couple dozen metalbenders “to build these tubes across the city and surrounding mountains”. Toph agreed and gave him a portion of her Royal Guard. The Comet’s in two days.

I’m going to sleep now to help set preparations tomorrow.

General How woke me from sleep to request I join his Air Corps and help lead it. I only love two things more than Kyoshi's clear whiskey, the Earth Queen and suicide charges. Of course I accepted.

Writing this part even later: _May Agni protect us. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sozin's Comet: Day after tomorrow.  
Toph's training methods are based on The Promise. Except this time she's not training three crazy kids, she's training the best earthbenders in the world (alongside the Dai Li). Its much easier for them to pick it up. 
> 
> I took creative liberties to make him not terrible at flying in two weeks. Flying references are from real life experience, put into layman's terms. Can't exactly have him talk about:
> 
> (Aviation nerd talk coming in for landing) TLDR Safe pilots are focused 100% of the time, they think before they act but when they act they commit to it. 
> 
> -make love to the airplane: If that doesn't drive away people I don't know what will: Be smooth with the aircraft. Tiny nudges go a long way. Not everyone flies the F-18. And those that do still follow this principle. 
> 
> -put yourself in the mood: So the last one didn't get rid of people, this one probably will. Flying today? Its a good idea to spent a few minutes meditating on airplanes and just airplanes. Think about the flight, about the checklists. Focus. 
> 
> -the three strike (unofficial) rule shows that someone isn't focused. The goto example of how perfectionist (good) pilots can be. Make three mistakes while preparing to fly, they don't have to be related, it's a good sign the pilot is out of it. 
> 
> -a short mental checklist: after starting up the aircraft, have a shortlist ready of things you should check (again!) before taking off. Fuel and flight controls are the big ones. 
> 
> -"If you're faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible." -Bob Hoover. Making an action? Commit to it! Don't waver.
> 
> There's hundreds more.


	34. The Waning Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final day before the Comet: Team Avatar trains, Yu Dao arms itself and the Consort gives a drunken speech.

HIM Entry XXXIV:

Everyone could feel the tension in the air. And if you didn’t, seeing the Avatar walk down the street shivering would make you tense. Plus when he's scared the air around him cools so people literally felt the tension. Toph's not worried though. She thinks "the King of Overcooked Meat is a coward! Real men fight on the ground!" and believes "if he invaded us by land he'd make it three steps ashore". 

The Avatar Prepares, Yu Dao Prepares:

We were awoken around dawn by the Avatar and his friends bursting down the door. In a very panicked voiced, he yelled “the Comet’s tomorrow! We need to train!” and pushed both of us out of bed with a wind gust. The guards didn’t stop the team in time. Toph put on her wrestler outfit and jumped out the window to go train, probably down by the beach. I was given a few options. I could go join the benders in their training or go meet with General How to look over the defenses. I _ partially _ chose the latter. First, though, another couple hours of sleep. 

Lunchtime, I finally woke up. General How met me in the Throneroom to explain that “all the anti-air defenses are prepared” despite them never being tested against Ozai’s airships. Across the city, metal tubes sat atop various buildings, manned by Royal Guards. The Mechanist worked throughout the night before collapsing from exhaustion. He filled shells with explosives. Other than that, the citizenry of Yu Dao was given an option a week ago; leave their homes and take the trains east to avoid the oncoming fire or stay and fight. The citizenry refused to budge. "The flames will consume us whether we run or stay, so we'd rather die defending our homeland" was the main opinion of the populace.

“I grow tired of this” I told him, head resting on wrist. “But, Your Majesty, the Comet-” “General How, how much planning can we do? I can plan an invasion, sure, but this? We’re just sitting here waiting for a fleet of death-bringing airships to come. You’re the earthbender. Go finish the plans on your own.” and I walked out of the room, the guards parting for me. How grumbled from behind me as I walked down the steps _ for once the steps_, my cape running along the steps behind me. 

Far ahead of me, a water spout ran back and forth, the bottom half ducked behind the wall. _ Either Katara or Aang _ . Flame bursts flew up at it. _ Aang_. Some of the denizens were sitting on their balconies, watching this performance. Some drank tea, some were playing card games. The street was more packed than usual. Mostly soldiers. As this is a militia and Yu Dao's population has been drained by war, a majority were women. People would see me and my regal clothes and the street itself would part for me. Anyone that wasn’t busy burying all their valuables in the ground beneath their houses noticed me and bowed. People cheered for my well being, I responded with “hey, anyone that survives, I’ll buy you a drink!” causing some chuckles. Mostly though, a somber atmosphere.

I walked past the training ground. Lots of people, armed with farm implements, of various ages, were practicing rudimentary attacks. They turned and bowed to me while I rested on the wooden fencepost. The Colonial Corps, some distance away, was practicing various drills. Rapidly building defenses, launching fire blasts from behind them, and so on.

I didn't know then and don't know now what they think will happen tomorrow? Unless I've misheard, we are facing a fleet of vehicles from the sky. I supposed maybe they'd dive out and attack the city close-quarters if Ozai wanted to take it. But Ozai strikes me in a Toph sort of way. That is, they'd much rather annihilate a enemy city's population than risk heavy casualties. Ozai might be our enemy but he's not a idiot. Unlike _some_ people, he'd rather bombard than get in close. Even during the Southern Water Tribe raids that he was overall commander of, he destroyed most of their settlements with trebuchets first before sending the legendary Southern Raiders -oh how I look up to them for their winter warfare skills- in to finish the job. Likewise, Toph spared the city only because a) this is the Earth Kingdom, by right and b) Our Kyoshian ethics state that we should learn from their egalitarianism. Otherwise Yu Dao would probably be rubble. No offense to Her Imperial Majesty, of course. Though Toph's stated previously her love of blowing up entire enemy towns and fortifications so I don't think the offense will be taken badly. Just don't show this to the Avatar or he might get _really_ annoyed _really_ quickly.

Whirring above me signaled _ someone _was flying one of those new aircraft. 

The aircraft twisted and turned, banking in all directions. Then the pilot _ punched a fire blast _ out of it. _ A firebender _ . He wasn’t shooting at anything, it seems. Just flying it around, punching fire blasts off to his sides. Then more whirring. Looking off towards the northern mountains, I spotted a couple more of these dots. They had no organization to their flying. It was like a flock of birds, with one in front and the other four trailing him off to the sides.

Once they reached the city, the dots became aircraft. In something I assume was practiced, poorly, they begin circling. They formed a ball of aircraft. All of them seem to be playing a game of “chase the guy in front of you but don’t let the guy behind you get on your tail”. As such, they formed a ball. The original aircraft turned around and narrowly missed one of his compatriots in some kind of really well practiced or really poorly practiced routine. I continued walking down the street. 

When I reached the ramparts, I alternated between watching the three versus one battle happening on the beach and this acrobatics competition. Now that I think about it, Wuhan told me that he trained the pilots in group flying. Aang was currently stopping Zuko’s fire blasts with his own. I assume this relentless use of firebending is because the only two elements Aang knows, for certain, he’ll have an infinite supply of tomorrow is airbending and firebending. Waterbending relies on being near water and earthbending requires he be so sedentary he's a open target. He’s a master at dodging. Zuko would send a stream of fire at him and he’d jump up, as if climbing invisible stairs, then front flip in mid air, before sending Zuko back with a fire blast. Just as he reached the ground, Toph would twist her hand to try and grapple him. Her sandbending is quite good, but he’s even better at propelling himself up with air blasts from his feet. If this was the regular earth, she'd have gotten him.

Then again she spent most of the training, not just now but over the past weeks, standing some distance behind the fighters, stomping her feet and feeling the duelists at work. Aang doesn't like "how you do nothing", she cites "I'm simply waiting", he counters "and so, I learned neutral jing too and you don't see me waiting" and in a moment of wisdom she finishes him with a "you may be the Avatar but I'm the Avatar's earthbending teacher and if I say waiting is a good idea its a good idea". Usually Zuko chimes in with "but he must master all jings" to which she fires back "of course Twinkletoes has to learn them all, if he's a master of everything else that's great and all but then he's certainly not a master of patience". One of the main issues is the disconnect between Toph and Aang. Not that it's Toph's fault, Aang is free to train whenever he wants -thus the excellent waterbending and decent firebending- but Toph runs a Kingdom with countless citizens and as such he should work around her but he doesn't. It goes back to the original issue he had months ago, he always thinks like a airbender. Airbenders don't need patience, they can just fly off into the sky. 

Its not like she does nothing during the matches. She always surprises him as within a second she twists her body and clutches her wrist, grabbing him with sandy fists. He breaks out using airbending, sometimes smashing the sandy fists with his staff and earthbending, but once he does that she goes back to standing there like a statue. Then, maybe ten minutes later, _bang,_ and she grabs him again. Katara keeps warning her "not to be so hard" on him, as -from personal experience- her earth fists are quite painful if she's not perfectly precise. As a result, she lets herself tone it down while the other two have at it tiring themselves and Aang. Once the other two are exhausted, all her waiting pays off as she hits Aang from two sides with quick jabs, soft-tipped pillars that still knock him right off his position. If he's at sea, she causes the water beneath him to dissipate as she extends the beach out. If he's on land, she grabs his feet and bangs him in the chest with quick strikes.

Loud whirring warned me of the aircraft approaching. They were flying low over the city, barely missing some of the higher-story buildings. They flew maybe a hundred feet -probably less- over the ramparts. Team Avatar halted to watch. The lead aircraft circled the team while his fellow pilots flew out to sea, spreading in all directions. He waved to Team Avatar, who waved back, save Toph who was yelling “I can feel the metal in that thing!” Thankfully, she didn’t try to pull the engine out or anything. 

The aircraft aerobatics club took to performing their circling a few hundred feet above Team Avatar. I spent a couple minutes watching the aircraft circling around each other. Each one tried to come as close as possible to the others, it seems. I examined the aircraft closely when I could. They all had the same Earth Kingdom emblems painted across the aircraft. A bright green circle with a gold square inside and gold trim, just like the Earth Kingdom’s flag. One on either side of the tail. One near the edge of the aircraft’s wings, both on top of the wing and below it. One right beneath the cockpit, on both sides. 

The Melon Lord: 

Looking back at the training, Toph set up some earth rocks and summoned whale oil from _ somewhere _ and Zuko lit the rocks on fire. She also summoned a melon from _ somewhere _ and _why did it have an evil looking face with a thin beard_. The rest of the team was gathered together, thirty feet away or so. Aang and Zuko at front, Katara behind them. Sokka and Suki behind her. Then Toph yelled in response to a question I most definitely didn’t hear. “I am not Toph, I am Melon Lord! Muahahahahaha!” I turned to try and find a Royal Guard to ask him, “Who gave the Queen the Cactus Juice again?” but there was nobody around. So I just sighed. 

Agni, please don't give her Cactus Juice again.

Toph sent all her rocks Team Avatar’s way. Zuko broke one open with a fire punch, Aang slid under his, Katara sliced one in half using her waterbending, Sokka dinged his sword on one and Suki did her awesome acrobatic stuff and jumped over hers. Aang jumped forward with his staff and stopped his staff a few inches from the Melon Lord’s melon. I could hear Suki grumble from here and _ feel _ Toph’s disappointment. _ Time for an existential crisis? _ Aang sat down and yelled “I can’t kill, though!” _ Yup _. 

I wasn’t having any of this. Judging by the loud _ow_ he yelled, neither was Toph. The aircraft were busy punching fireballs at each other. _ Nothing to see there _ . I went back down the stairs and walked over to that excellent teahouse, the Sunken Helmet. The sun was, using the age-old strategy of four fingers outstretched equals 15 minutes, four hours from setting. The owner greeted me and everyone inside stood to bow. I waved my hand and simply went “you got something to drink?” He looked at me funny. “We got Green Tea, the Daily Special-” I held up my hand. “No, I want something to _ drink _”. 

Nothing Like a Good Speech:

The patrons were amazed, the owner went “I’ve got Fire Whiskey, I’ve also got-” I cut him off. “Get me a glass” and sat down on one of the barstools, resting my head on my hand. “Everyone,” I called out. I felt everyone’s gaze. “...All drinks are on me” and I took my first glass. The crowd erupted in cheers. The owner asked “how will you pay?” I told him, “if we win tomorrow, I’ll make sure the Throne gives you whatever you’re owed”. Around me, the other patrons were happy to take advantage and all ordered hard drinks. 

A few hours and surprisingly only a couple drinks later, I wasn’t hammered. Probably because I spent most of it in a Pai Sho game. And for the record, he only won because I couldn't form a harmony with my Chrysanthemum pieces due to improper Rock piece placement. Some aircraft whirred overhead. Some earthquakes came and went, either caused by Her Imperial Majesty, the Avatar or troop movements. The sky turned orange as the sun neared the horizon. The teahouse transitioned into a bar. People held stand-up comedy. Drunken comedy. Most of the jokes were directed at the War. I’m not writing any down because they were all terrible. 

Some patrons begged me to “get up and deliver us a rousing speech to prepare us for death!” I was getting tired of someone asking me to do this every five minutes, so by the time the sun finally hit the horizon, I said I’d do it. Word of the Consort giving a speech spread across the neighborhood, and suddenly hundreds of heads flocked to the windows to look in. I was barely drunk when giving this speech, happily recorded by patrons. 

“Tomorrow, everyone, us nobodies will watch our city burn! If the Avatar isn’t a master of the elements or gets killed by a lightning strike because he’s secretly a moron, we’re all beyond fucked! You hear that! Beyond! Not a chance! I have no clue what’s coming tomorrow! Could be ten giant airships that are flying flamethrowers. Could be a single hot air balloon with the Fire Lord in it, here to betray his nation and join our cause of peace and harmony! The Crown Princess is probably flying her dragon! I can’t bend but the Avatar’s probably going to demand I join them because why not! And you know what? I’m going to _ volunteer_! Do you want to die in your homes or do you want to die flying on some one hundred year old mythical creature? I for one choose a different option! In a aircraft!

Let's do a troop review! We got the Team Avatar. The Avatar himself is proficient but he’s not a fan of killing. His girlfriend’s a great healer and her magical water powers saved him one time! However, she's also quite shockable! Water doesn't work well against lightning! Prince Zuko, yes the traitor, also joined the Team. He’s a really good firebender, as many of your once-brothers and fathers could confirm! That's assuming he's even loyal to our side this time! We also got two non-benders. Because everyone knows your strike team needs two people that can’t manipulate magical elements, right? My cousin's really good with all kinds of weapons and Sokka has a boomerang. A really powerful, one shot one bonk boomerang. 

We got some recently developed technology, like anti-air defenses. We haven’t tested them. We don’t even know if they’ll fire properly. We’ve got aircraft. Powered flight. We’re sending firebenders in wooden planes against a fleet of firebenders. Genius, right? I'm joining them because why not.

We once had allies. The Northern Water Tribe sent its navy to assist the Southern Water Tribe for the Invasion. You want to know what happened? Thousands of men charged a fortified defensive position all because they really _ really _ believed they’d win. Did they do any scouting with that flying furball? Nope. Any planning to secure a beachhead? Nope. Did anyone think bringing along Zuko was a good idea? Nope. Did anyone ask Aang if he was actually willing to kill someone? Nope. As a result, the Pacifist led thousands of men to their deaths! Their toasty, well-done deaths! 

We have an army defending Yu Dao. If you consider rabbles of men, wearing a random assortment of clothes and equipped with a farmer’s gallery of weapons an army then yes, this is an army. We have the Imperial Army! They've got tanks, and people who can fling giant rocks at things!" I downed another drink and this one sent me even further down the path of intelligent thought.

"I tell you, between you and I, all our fighting men and women are more than happy to die for their Queen, though. Because she’s a fighter. She’ll take a city by herself if she feels like it. She doesn’t sit on the Badgermole Throne and wait for her Generals to win a war for us. Where's our navy? I have no idea!

And what happens if we lose at Yu Dao? I don't know, but I know we probably should try to _not_ lose!

So, men and women. Drink to death! Tomorrow, the Fire Lord might be fighting Aang but he’ll regret he walked onto the land of the Queen! Long live Yu Dao! Long live the Earth Kingdom and long live the Earth Queen!” 

The crowd _ erupted _. They picked me up and carried me down the street, cheering and applauding me for “an amazing speech.” I completely made it up as I went along. They carried me, robes and all, down the main road. A massive mob gathered around my body. They chanted “Long live Yu Dao!”, “Long live the Queen!”, “Onwards, till death!” and many other things. I was peddled along the human wave until I finally reached the western gate. A mob pressed it open and I noticed Team Avatar look on with amazement. “Toph, is that-” Katara called out, really surprised. The blind girl yelled. 

“Oi, mob of drunks! Put Kyoshi down or I’m going to stomp all of you out of existence!” I don’t know who determined to bring me to the beach, but the mob led me there. The mob didn’t budge against Toph’s wishes, so she yelled again. “Your Majesty, do you want us to kill ‘em?” Zuko asked, getting into stance. “Nah watch and learn” and she flexed her hands. She stepped on the sand and felt around. I realized that I needed her to hear me. “Toph! Me! Your lovable bastardmaker” I yelled out, she _ turned _ towards me and flicked her hand. A sandy wave pushed the mob apart, dropping me on the ground. I yelled again, she grabbed me with a sandy fist and pulled me over to them. The crowd got back up. “You hurt?” Katara asked, ready with the water. “What happened? Why was the mob carrying you?” Sokka jutted in. “I’m fine and they were celebrating.” Sokka, logically, asked, “what?” I turned to the crowd, most of whom weren’t inebriated. “They’re celebrating death. They’re celebrating life. They’re celebrating their Queen. They’re celebrating whatever they want.” Toph smiled upon hearing the holy mentioning of her and rule-breaking in the same sentence.

The crowd went silent, for some reason. The voice of General Song of all people was heard. He emerged from the crowd with a few polite _shoves_ and one _get-outta-my-way fist-to-face_. He sang something that wasn’t written for a theater. The syllables didn’t line up. Nobody cared. 

“The Imperial Army and the Earth Kingdom, as unwavering as steel and as enduring as stone! Let us march onwards, swords in hand, through fire and lightning, into one last deadly stand!” 

The crowd cheered and repeated the chant. People chanted “To the Daughter of the Spirits and the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Years!” Toph cheered with them. The rest of the team looked at each other funny. “Why did he say that? Why did _ they _ say that” Aang asked Katara. Toph heel-spun and walked over to the duo. “My people are a proud bunch. That’s why.” and she stormed off, kicking up sand dunes as she passed.

The crowd chanted to make that the official anthem. Toph, earning cheers as she passed, said “after tomorrow!” and the crowd cheered. They were ready for anything. 

I’m writing this in the middle of the night. I just woke up. The Comet comes today.

“Let’s do this, Team Avatar!” Sokka just yelled from _ somewhere _ beneath us. 

_ Long live the Earth Kingdom. Long live the Earth Queen. May Agni protect us all.  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Sozin's Comet begins! The fate of the world rests on a band of teenagers.
> 
> Song's anthem (great opportunity for Song's song but I missed it) is a reference to Red Army is the Strongest, one of the many empowering (to charge a fortified position armed with a dagger and four bullets kind of empowering) songs of the Red Army Choir. "Let the Red Army/Take in its journey/A bayonet with its hardened hand. And now we must all/Unstopped by walls/Go into one last deadly stand!".
> 
> It was common for soldiers to drink the night before a battle, and why should Yu Dao be an exception? Plus, the drunk speech allowed me to insert some sleep-deprived commentary on the stakes. Note, I was actually sleep-deprived when I wrote them.


	35. Sozin’s Comet - The Hour Has Arrived

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sozin's Comet begins with a pre-takeoff speech. It's a shorter chapter than usual.

HIM Entry XXXV:

A Red Sky:

They asked me if I wanted to go along. I should’ve said yes. But no, I follow my Queen’s orders “I want you to hold the city”. Suki departed with Team Avatar, dressed in the armor of the Kyoshi Warriors. Toph pillared herself onto Appa, dressed in her wrestler outfit. Aang looked up to me and gestured for the rest to. “Your Earthliness!” he shouted, bowing. He raised his hands up to bow. The rest bowed afterwards, each in their own style. Toph smirked. I shot Zuko one last look. A scowl was my response. Aang turned around and air jumped onto the saddle. I was left standing at the window, looking out as the rest of the team got on Appa and Aang yelled out “Yip yip, buddy!”. Appa let off a roar and blasted off towards the north. Suki _looked_ back at me while she vanished into the distance.   


_ I had something else to do _ . Wuhan used metalbending to put on my Imperial Armor. My hair was queued, scabbard at the side, I yelled for “Airfield, now!” We skipped the formalities, ran down the stairs ignoring all bows and morning greetings. Wuhan and I grabbed two ostrich horses from the stables and set off for the North Gate, "fuck the footmen". At least twenty women of various ages stood around the Imperial Courtyard. I didn’t know who they were. They arrived after Appa set off. Each one was holding a torch in their right hand. They bowed to me as I passed, but I didn’t get time to see them off. Soldiers marched in column formation, blocking me from speaking to them. A bell rang, somewhere off to the left. The hoofbeats were overtaken by a symphony of war. Of doom. Bells, drums, horns. Some were from the Imperial Army, calling on the soldiers to muster. Some must’ve been Colonial in origin, a muster to arms. Together, they formed an out of sync, chaotic mess. Soldiers marched, barely parting for us to pass.  


The gate slammed open with earthbending. Above us, guards yelled out “For the Kingdom!” and Wuhan and I punched our fists in response. The airfield was straight ahead, another mile or so outside the city. What was once a forest was now a flat piece of land. A dozen aircraft sat on the dimly lit strip. We dismounted, our horses taken by footmen into a wide stone building that housed these vehicles. The cool sea breeze made the various flags around the installation flutter.

A dozen men stood in front of the aircraft. They wore identical uniforms. A torso plate, shoulder greaves and goggles like Teo’s except rounded. A hat that looked similar to an arming cap, but made of leather. Each held a jian scabbard in their right hand and a green headband in their left hand, emblazoned with the red -replacing the green- Earth Kingdom coin emblem.

A torchwielder illuminated the Mechanist's arrival. He came over from the stone structure, a single lantern flickering through a window that must've been his office. “Here they are, Your Majesty. A dozen men.” I nodded. Only a dozen. “Do they expect me to give a speech?” I whispered to him. He let out a small smile and handed me a scroll to read from. He whispered that each of them volunteered for this. I showed the scroll to Wuhan, he skimmed it, nodded, and I turned to face the men. They were standing shoulder to shoulder. Wuhan held the torch for me while I began speaking from this poster sized scroll.

“Look at the ground around you. Look to your right, at Yu Dao." I pointed at the twilight-lit city. "Look ahead, at the mountains." I pointed over my shoulder "This is all yours, by rite. We either win today or we die by tonight. You have drafted your last scrolls. You have prayed at the shrines of your ancestors. You drank the tea. You have each been given a blade, crafted by the finest Yu Dao blacksmiths. On the hilt, a red Earth coin. Shall you pay the ultimate price for the Kingdom, your mothers and sisters will be proud. Now, I will proceed to-" I couldn't keep reading off this, I stuttered and decided to improvise "say a few of my own words!” 

“I’m joining you today. What good is a monarch who sits while his men die? Her Imperial Majesty flies to launch the first strike against Ozai. If I have to die, it won’t be cowering behind the bodies of those who would die for me.” I proceeded to channel some of Song’s prayer. “If I must meet an end today, may it be a last stand in the name of the Queen. In the name of the Kingdom!” 

The soldiers turned their scabbards horizontal, gripped the hilt with their left hand, and drew the blades out. They turned the blades fully vertical and jutted them upwards to the sky. “Ten Thousand Years!” Wuhan yelled. “Ten Thousand Years!” the dozen men chanted. They sheathed their blades in the reverse order, put the scabbards on the ground and put on their headbands. They heel-turned, walked over to the aircraft, and stood next to the cockpits. They chanted “Victory or death!” and got in. Wuhan and I walked over to the two seater and got in. I buckled myself in while he completed his pre-flight check.  My scabbard was sitting on my seat, the strap still strung around me. "There's no time!" the Mechanist shouted, pointing off to the far east. Far off to the east, a red glow. Sunrise was in an hour, meaning that was the comet. _The legendary comet_.

The aircraft all fired up with the assistance of a propeller-starting soldier. The Mechanist called out, now having backed up to the stone building. “May the Spirits protect you all!” The men that were holding the torches, dotted across the field, repeated it. Our plane taxied first. As they were all Royal Guard, they pulled out their dao, normally never used, and jutted the blade into the soil. A salute to the men. A salute to me. As Wuhan finished his passes, hitting the throttle for the takeoff, the Royal Guard chanted out one final chant. “One for His Imperial Majesty!” And the bumpy aircraft took off.  


The sky was an ungodly red to the east. We flew in a pattern until the other twelve planes took off. We stayed low, not wanting to fly over the mountains just yet, lest whatever we are attacking spots us. They were more like a gaggle than a set of aircraft, but we were easily distinguishable because Wuhan’s aircraft has two wings, connected by struts. Wuhan explained that the pilots were giving a final sendoff to Yu Dao. As a result, we patterned around the Colonial Palace. Each pilot circled around the Palace twice. Beneath us, the women from earlier were waving their torches back and forth. A sendoff to their sons and their brothers. Each pilot let off a fire blast as they passed. With the twelve done patterning, Wuhan called out "instructions, Your Majesty?" _Oh, I forgot, I'm running this. _"Get us over those mountains!" "Right away, Your Majesty" and he pulled the aircraft up. The twelve pilots behind us followed suit, forming a rough flock of birds trying to touch the clouds. "Ridgeline ahead, let's get to Wulong!" I shouted as we neared our target altitude.   


As we came over the Northern Range, the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen. The far-distant Wulong Forest, thousands of tall pillars, were on fire. Pillars of smoke ascended upwards and upwards. "Spirits save us" I heard Wuhan mutter, his hands in prayer. "With this much fire they don't need a air fleet" I said, numb. "But they have one" and he ducked the aircraft slightly, allowing us to look straight ahead. 

S ixteen massive airships, each one must've been the size of a Empire-Class emerged from behind the black wall of smoke. The lead airship had three giant flame pillars jutting out from its front, roasting the skies and turning the ground to ash.  


_Well we're fucked_.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's lots of references to Kamikazes in this chapter. The katanas have been replaced with jians.   
I can already hear the comments: Why not start Sozin's Comet with a battle? Next chapter features the dogfighting, this one places the go pieces on the field.


	36. Sozin’s Comet - The Battle over Wulong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dogfighting! Need I say more?

HIM Entry XXXVI:

Approaching the Air Fleet:

“How do you want to attack them, Your Majesty?” Wuhan yelled, leaning over to glance at me. “Well, let’s take these things as high as we can go then dive on ‘em. They don’t know we have an air force”. He nodded. He tugged on the yoke and we pointed up towards the full moon.  _ Oh Moon Spirit, I see you’re here to watch us. Have a good show _ . The aircraft behind us followed suit. Ahead of us, the white dot of Appa flew in an air bubble through the flames. Massive waves of flame were directed towards the bison but all were stopped with firebending from the passengers. A beautiful light show.  


The airships weren’t firing forwards, instead focusing on the bison. Their dragon headed prows glinted reflections of the fire blasts. Except one, that had something golden and much bigger. “Wuhan, you think old man Ozai forgot that Yu Dao’s ours?” I yelled over the sharp winds. “I bet nobody ever told him, I mean, would  _ you _ want to be  _ the guy _ that tells the Fire Lord that the Colonial Capital was taken by a blind girl?” I laughed. “Nope.” He banked the aircraft to allow us to watch the ensuing flame war happening below us. Appa flew up alongside an airship and seemed to hover alongside it. I couldn’t see as the blimp part blocked us. The flames illuminated more than just zeppelins. A fleet of twice as many hot air balloons were flying, much slower, behind the air fleet. “Requesting permission to suicide charge in this biplane, Your Majesty!” Wuhan said, professionally, while leveling the aircraft out. “Granted. Let’s die in an awesome fashion!” and we cheered. He pressed forward on the yoke, the yoke in the back seat is connected to the one in the front, and the biplane dived towards the third airship from the right. Looking back, the other monoplanes followed suit. “Nothing like a good death!” I screamed, trying to punch the air but being stopped by the sharp wind.  


Assaulting the Air Fleet:

We pulled up just before hitting the blimp. Behind us, the dozen pilots broke off in all directions. “Wuhan, how are you going to kill an airship?” I asked him. We circled one of the blimps. “I have no clue. You got a sword?” he asked, seriously. “You’re kidding” I told him. “I’m not. Do it” he said, also seriously. Off to our side, pilots were pelting the balloon part of the airship with flames. They had no effect. “You see that thing, it’s metal. My sword’s useless.” I exclaimed. “Wait, metal. You’re a genius!” he yelled out. Off to our left, some of the pilots flew underside and one pilot was able to land a direct hit on one of the firebenders on the catwalks. The firebender fell backwards and went right over the side of the airship, falling into the flaming mountains below. The firebenders on the airship were torn between burning the ground beneath them and launching blasts at the aircraft darting about.  


We followed this one blimp closely, dodging fire blasts and flaming whips. Wuhan noticed  _ something _ because he called out “Your Majesty, why is the top of that airship in two pieces?” I swiveled my head to the left. Barely visible, a tiny blind girl was  _ running _ along the top of the airship,  _ pulling _ the left half apart with her hands. “Of course _she'd_ be doing _that_” I yelled. He yelled “Go Queen!” and we both cheered. In honor of her, I turned the biplane left to fly around Toph to watch her single handedly take down one of these metallic monoliths. We flew right over here. “Go Bandit!” I yelled out as we passed. I looked back and saw her punch the air in approval. The airship, meanwhile, carved through stone pillars -correction, Toph used her face to dive through some- and came to a halt on the ascent of one of these many mountains.  _ Now if only she had eyes to see the other airships, she could win this entire fight in a minute _ . She landed on the ground and snapped her wrists upwards and the zeppelin was ripped into multiple pieces by two massive stone slabs cutting through it like a scythe through wheat.  


Off to our back-right, the still flying airship had two figures running along a catwalk, evading flame blasts. The man in blue tripped.  _ Sokka _ . He was hanging on to the catwalk with dear life. I took control and twisted us around in a tight turn. We nearly collided with one of the monoplanes. I tried to get as close as possible to the duo and was able to make out Suki with her buckler, blocking a fireball. I swung underneath just as Sokka yelled “this is it!” I pulled up and circled around and watched Suki, having gotten a knife from somewhere, toss it into the Imperial Firebender. A perfect hit. The man clutched his throat before stumbling over and right off the airship. ' _ And that’s why a Kyoshi Warrior pack a rack' previous me said, somewhere. _

With the duo on their feet, we flew forwards towards the hot air balloons. “Okay, Your Majesty, time to shine.” I gripped the hilt of my sword and let out a prayer while I sweated profusely. “Ten Thousand Years!” and unsheathed it. He slowed the biplane down, picking a target, and came up alongside it. With both my hands, I jutted the sword into the fabric.  _ Riiiiip _ . It only took a second. I sheathed the blade. Behind us, the balloon plummeted towards the ground. One of the men aboard jumped off and  _ took flight _ . His feet became fire jets. He flew over to one of the pillars and landed on it. 

Turning back towards the airships, the frontmost ship was jetting out three massive pillars of flames. One upwards, one to the bottom left, one to the bottom right. “Go after another airship or the balloons?” Wuhan asked. “You want to try metalbending an airship? Do it! Your King commands you!” I yelled, but I was joking. He took it seriously. “Right away, Your Majesty! Take the stick.” I took the stick and ascended in elevation. Monoplanes darted between the airships and hot air balloons, “I count seven allies attacking the hot air balloons” Wuhan called out. I nodded. I picked a target, the current leftmost balloon. The previous leftmost balloon had slowed down, probably due to Sokka and Suki fighting their way through it.  


As we came up towards the airship from behind, Wuhan was muttering to himself. “Sense the metal. Sense the metal”. I slowed down. Wuhan reached out with his right hand and yelled something inaudible. A piece of metal from the airship was detached, now floating in mid air alongside us. He screamed in happiness and released much of the metal sheet. His face turned to one of disappointment as the airship continued like nothing happened.  


Aang, Katara and Zuko were fighting one of the airships. Katara froze the rudder's connectors, causing the whole airship to stay its course. Zuko kicked himself off Appa, propelled himself _across the sky like a bird_ except with flame jets coming out of his feet, and punched a guy _in the face_ with a flaming fist, knocking said man right off the airship. The three of them ran along catwalks. Aang dissipated all oncoming blasts with his staff, Zuko launched people overboard with his own blasts and Katara...I don't know what she did but she froze people's heads solid, banged the against metal, unfroze them and continued. I assume pacification allowed for terminal head injuries? 

Wuhan still held on to a piece of metal. As we circled around a catwalk, he turned the metal into a massive sword blade and sliced a part of the catwalk in two. We narrowly dodged their fire blasts, but in retaliation we sliced their legs out from under them. 

Aerial Tactics:

We dodged another fire pillar, sent by someone on a catwalk, and flew back towards the hot air balloons. The other pilots were circling around like opportunistic duelists. It appears as if the defenders on the balloons couldn’t fire upwards. As a result, the pilots could simply bank in circles, punching fire blasts down until one of them hit rope. On my approach there, I tried the balloon slice trick and succeeded, twice. Wuhan was very good at slowing the biplane down and banking it sharply, catching the defenders off guard.

Seeing the low orange sun gave me a flashback, an idea. Azula flew towards our fleet in the North using the sun at her back. If we could do the same, we might be able to catch the firebenders off guard. I told Wuhan, he agreed with the idea, and we flew over to the pilots currently circling the balloons. “Wuhan can you communicate with them?” I yelled out. “I’ll try!” and we dived towards the circling aircraft and slowed down. Wuhan stuck his hand out to wave to them, one of the pilots happened to be looking our way and noticed. He waved back. Wuhan gestured towards himself with two fingers, then towards the sun. The other pilot nodded. I turned east again, the pilot followed us. Others must’ve noticed the biplane trailing a monoplane, and joined along. Quickly, we assembled three other pilots as we flew east over the flaming pillars. I pulled the yoke, we went up, the other three followed suit. We must’ve been a few miles from the zeppelins when we did our turn-on-a-earth-coin.

I quickly found that our biplane, or rather their monoplanes, had two very different sets of characteristics. We banked easily, they took another couple seconds to bank. On the other hand, once they leveled out they caught up to us easily. One aircraft sat off to our right, two to our left. We exchanged waves and gestures. I pointed towards one of the massive zeppelins -third from the leader-, the other three copied my motions. We were close enough that we could  _ almost _ hold a conversation, if not for the loud engine. I leaned on my right and tried to point at the tail rudder with my right hand. I pointed at him so he understood I was referring to him, then a ‘going around’ motion, followed by a jab. I think the pilot understood, he extended his hand to point roughly at the same target. Meanwhile, on my left, I made a scooping motion with my left hand. The other two pilots nodded. Thankfully, flying the one two-winged aircraft meant everyone knew who we were. 

We neared the zeppelin, I punched upwards, hoping the other pilots would get it. They did. All three broke off to pursue their own targets. The man on the right flew towards the tail rudder, pitching himself so he could punch a fire blast upwards. The two on the left attacked the catwalks. The firebenders, indeed, didn’t see us coming. Two killing blows. One of the pilots, sadly, pulled up too quickly and flew right into the gondola itself. The gondola shook from the impact. As we pulled up, I turned around to look back on the zeppelin. The airship was punctured by multiple pillars from Wulong, smashing into the ground below. We kept flying forward. Sokka and Suki must've seen this, because they decided to take _their_ airship and ram the adjacent airship, slicing it open with their prow. Looking back at the first airship, earth pillars were toppled and the metal distorted, _someone_ was punching _her_ way through the zeppelin and quaking the ground in the process.  


Looking straight ahead and to the left, though, we saw something haunting. If the mountains being on fire wasn't enough, the lead airships were crossing the Northern Range, now coming into the Yu Dao Valley. One of the pilots who was flying next to us drew out his jian, turn to  _ me _ , screaming  _ something _ , jutting his jian upwards, and throttled his monoplane towards the lead airship.

He flew alongside the catwalks, dodging fire blasts and striking multiple Imperial Firebenders down. I turned left to follow him from a distance. Just as the airship came over the last set of peaks, a spiked palisade guarding the Colonial Capital, he went full speed into the lead gondola.  


That happened to be the gondola with the giant golden prow on it.

And we haven't even gotten to the giant explosive cannons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, ground forces engage, old friends return and Ozai engages Zuko, Katara and Aang. 
> 
> I referenced some of the more fanatical, stereotypical, motivations of the Kamikaze for these pilots. In reality, most pilots were peer pressured by society into signing up.


	37. Sozin's Comet - Yu Dao

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explosion. More explosion. Did I mention anti-aircraft guns?

HIM Entry XXXVII:

Mountains, meet Ozai's Air Fleet. Ozai, meet rocks.

SARs to the Rescue!:  


We banked left, flying upwards and towards Yu Dao to get a better overview of the situation. Beneath us and across the mountain range, the ground shook. Hidden bunkers opened up and ants emerged. Sections of burned hillside were plowed over as _defensive positions_ were pulled out of the earth itself. Ants, their green dress clashing with the burning fields, grabbed large stone surface-to-air rocks. We ducked down low enough to _hear_ the horns blare. Looking off to our left and beneath us, the large rocks were picked up and punched in the direction of the zeppelins. They crashed against the metal prows. They crashed against the zeppelin's structure. But they had little effect. Ten times from a dozen positions, our men picked up large rocks and battered the lead airships. Firebenders continued burning the ground with massive pillars of flame. Sometimes a rock would erase the lightshow and impact a catwalk. We watched one rock hit one of the lead Imperial Firebenders head on and knock him right off the zeppelin. But he backflipped into flame jets and flew right towards the firing position. The defenders got another surface to air rock off and _this_ _one_ smashed into him. Like a bird downed during the hunt, he tumbled into the ashen lands below.   
The hot air balloons separated. Some followed the fleet, some red dots went east. Some black dots gave chase to the red dots and blasts of fire, visible from many miles away, showcased the duelists at play. 

The rest of the airships didn't care much for the firing positions. As if on command, the undersides of the airships opened up. Massive trapdoors fell open. From our position, they were coin sized and metallic. But there were alot of them.  Once released, they plummeted towards the ground. My eye was focused on one specific airship flying over the massive, clearly visible military depot. The purse of coins fell and the ground blasted with explosions. The entire base, gone in a cloud of smoke. Off towards the low sun, hot air balloons were unleashing their own payloads on the train depot, destroying it. The surface to air rocks ripped through the hot air balloons. "Your Majesty, the coastal road!" Wuhan yelled out, pointing to our right. One of the greatest Colonial Public Works projects was the Coastal Road. It was paved. It was lit. It was being destroyed. "Your Majesty, if one of Ozai's ships can blow up Song's base, what can ten do?" , probably to bomb the train line. Turning the biplane around, the figure of Appa flew out from beneath one of the zeppelins, trading fire blasts with it. He flew right past us, probably not even noticing us, and came out along the side of the lead airship.   


The Avatar front flipped off Appa and landed on one of the mountain peaks using his staff. Appa flew past us again, going back towards the rest of the fleet. Sokka and Suki’s zeppelin was staggered far behind. A figure, clad in pure gold, dived off the lead airship’s front platform, flying towards the sun. “Wuhan, that’s-” “Ozai”. He propelled himself through the air with four unending pillars of flame,  _ burning off his own clothes _ . The Avatar, meanwhile, pulled the side of a nearby mountain up to stop him but Ozai burned right through the center with a fist.  


Aang drew water from a nearby waterfall and coiled it up to sent at Ozai. Ozai went face first into the waterfall and turned it to steam. We both concluded it was smarter to stay _away_ from the dancing duo and flew over the Northern Range.  I turned my head around just as _tsungi_ horns sounded from beneath us. 

The Artillery Piece:

Diving towards the city, we flew over rooftops. The ants were now humans and they were waving to us. Tsungi horns blasted around us and we watched a couple large metal tubes, placed across the city,  _ shake _ as projectiles were launched out of them. Specifically, a man in a rooted horse stance _punched_ a projectile out of the tube. He has to summon so much energy that the building around him shakes. One projectile went right into the lead airship’s gondola,  _ boom! _ "Go Guards!" Wuhan yelled out, punching the air in the direction of one of the projectiles. The zeppelin let out a inhuman screech as the entire center ripped in two. The sound was the same as the sound of a metal ship creaking as it snaps in two. Small red dots pour out of it like we were flushing a fire ant colony with water. Some red dots took to the air, flying towards the defenders. Some just vanished. The front half of the airship came down on the city proper and as it crashed, a massive set of explosions rang out.  _ The payload _ . Not to mention the amount of dust kicked up as it carved its way through entire city blocks. The back half brought down a mountain with its booms, encasing much of itself with a landslide. Hot air balloons arrived amidst the smoke. Flying across the city, we saw where the front half crashed. It was a massive crater. A whole neighborhood was leveled. The front prow jutted out of the ground and sat on the street like it was placed there.   


The hot air balloons just caused more chaos. We flew up towards the balloons, trying to cut one off before it unleashed its payload. Tsungi horns blared again. It seemed as if the city itself shook when the ten or so emplacements opened up. Metallic projectiles, this time not explosive, thankfully, tore through the hot air balloons. We were lucky in that we weren’t caught between these four balloons that were obliterated but we were close enough to watch. One projectile went right into a balloon’s basket and set off a chain explosion. The bombs were detonated, sending shrapnel in all directions. The two people on board were filled with metal pieces, other shrapnel flew up and tore open their balloon. Even more shrapnel flew through the air, ripping open the other three balloons. Another metallic projectile collided with one of these balloons, detonating it. Overall, it's probably not a good idea to fly in a basket filled with explosives.   


More balloons arrived. Not every projectile hit a balloon. There were too many balloons for the projectiles to be effective. Some balloons were able to unleash their payloads. Loud booms sounded beneath us. The payloads reached their targets. Banking to look at the damage, we saw houses turned to craters, the rest of the city block shredded. Above the mountain range, the rest of the zeppelin fleet was arriving. Wuhan was able to pilot me next to a hot air balloon, and I sliced my fourth balloon of the morning. Just behind the mountain range, a fire dance. Two figures flying around using fire-propelled jets. One figure was whirling two flame streams into one. The other was aggressively diving at them. A third figure emerged from below, flying around on a jet stream with one leg while he flung a wave of water at one of the dots. Said figure simply melted the water with a fire wave and halted the other's fireballs with his own.  


Our pilots had begun circling one of the zeppelins, pelting it with flame blasts. Soldiers were hit along the catwalks and the pilots barely avoided getting hit themselves. We banked in circles to take down the remaining balloons. Jutting my blade into the fabric lets out a very satisfying  _ whoosh _ as the balloon deflates quickly. The two passengers dived out, using jets. We were more agile than them, however, and escaped by going vertical. "I'm going to try something really, really stupid!" I shouted to Wuhan. He laughed and said "alright, remember, die looking cool!". After going vertical, I turned the aircraft on a coin and dived back towards the two passengers. They had stopped pursuing us, instead slowly descending towards the ground. I jutted the stick to bank us sideways and pull up, and stuck my sword upwards. _Slice_. My sword chopped off the firebender’s leg. The other one was completely caught by surprise, but we had already vanished before he could retaliate. The first firebender, no leg to stand on, was so busy recognizing his suddenly appearing disability that he didn't notice the massive surface to air rock coming their way. As such, the two were enveloped in a dust cloud.  


The airships arrived.  _ Boom _ . The city shook. We were flying directly towards the rightmost ship. The lead airship was hit beneath the prow with an explosive round. The ship to the right made a slight left turn and sliced the center ship in half. Between the explosion and the slice, the airship’s center detonated in a blinding flash of light. The ship that performed the slice started sinking towards the ground. Wuhan screamed about  _ something _ to the left, but I didn’t hear him as I was turning right to try and turn around towards the balloons. Nope, he was right. A massive red object soared right over us. The iconic tail whipped as the figure coiled across the sky. Wuhan was terrified. “Well it was a good run Your Majesty, we’re dead” and he brought his hands up to mutter a prayer to some spirit. I laughed. “Not just yet” and pointed to the figure riding it. Druk owned the sky, whizzing across it the likes of which no pilot could ever achieve. He effortlessly dodging metal projectiles, and came up alongside us. 

Iroh’s Return:

Yu Dao burned, zeppelins were still coming towards us. The city shook with explosions. And Iroh was waving to me from atop Druk. “Good morning, Your Imperial Majesty! I’m sorry I was late, I was having some tea this morning. They say tea calms the nerves, and I needed it” Iroh called out, smiling, as if this was some kind of normal interaction people have.  _ Where, how, what? _ ... “Grandmaster, how did you even…” Iroh smiled. “My niece may be a great fighter but no fighter can beat the belly bump! I grabbed Druk and took off. He’s mine, after all. I was given him when he was just a mere egg.”  _ What. By who?  _ “How...go help fight!” and I almost lost my hand as I thrusted it towards the propeller, trying to point at Yu Dao. Druk engaged his smoke plume and took off. Looking at Wuhan, he just sat there with a confused expression. And this is why before any battle, be sure to drink.   


Iroh didn’t even need to snap Druk’s reins. He just flew towards the zeppelins and Druk breathed fire, encasing a rudder in flames. Firebenders tried to strike the dragon, but he didn’t even notice. Didn't care. Meanwhile, the ground emplacements continued firing. A zeppelin was taken down by multiple metal projectiles piercing the sides. It went forwards, missing the city and going headfirst into the southern mountain range. Druk flew above a different zeppelin and _sank his claws _into it, ripping it open. _Okay, Toph versus Druk, airship demolition specialists. That's a tournament that needs to happen. _  


_ Crack _ . A blinding white flash from behind the mountains. A loud thunderclap signalled it was lightning. We concluded that gathering a strike force was a good idea so w e flew north. As we were banking around, a lightning bolt was sent up to Druk. As if it simply passed through him, Iroh contained the strike and jutting his hand out, redirecting it into a zeppelin.  


We continuously banked around this one balloon the aircraft were circling, I waved to get their attention. One by one, the pilots noticed me. I gestured for three of them to get behind me. I jammed the stick right and the other three took their positions. Beneath us, the fields were still burning. I had us fly east, the sun was only four fingers from the horizon. Once we were a few miles away, I sharply turned around. After having turned on a coin, I looked ahead at the duel. Ozai was sending nonstop streams of fire at Zuko and Aang. The two, as if in sync, fired back with two massive fireballs, which collided with Ozai’s streams. The result was two Wulong-sized pillars of fire ascending to the skies. 

I gestured to the monoplane on the right to go around, he nodded. I gestured to two on the left with a similar motion. One pilot ducked slightly, punching a fireball right over his propeller and into a defending firebender. The other two followed through, one assaulting the rudder, one assaulting the front of the gondola. We weren’t as lucky. We came underneath the catwalks and were caught off-guard by a firebender, who fired a blast straight into our top left wing. “It was a good run Your Majesty!” Wuhan yelled as we both tried pulling the aircraft up. We were going to go face first into Ozai and Aang, currently exchanging fire blasts with air blasts. We were able to turn the aircraft left and hold it in the air for long enough to reach a plateau."Wuhan, I'm going to need you to earthbend us _something_!" My vagueness must've helped because he snapped to attention and shot me a _I've-got-a-idea _glance.   


We came in low, the wheels taken off the biplane, but Wuhan stuck his hands to the sides and ground the biplane to a halt with earth-turned-sand bending. We jumped out, covered in sweat and muttering prayers. A shadow appeared in front of me, so I got out of my kneeling _thank-the-Spirits_ position and right into Her Imperial Majesty, herself, picking her teeth. 

"Mornin'!" 

_ Where did you even...what...how...why...oh forget it. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon for this: Iroh received a egg from Ran and Shaw, raised Druk in secrecy but Azula was given care of him while Iroh traveled the world with Zuko. 
> 
> Next time, one whiskey bottle versus the world!


	38. Sozin's Comet - Team Avatar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fire Lord Ozai versus master benders and a man with a whiskey bottle. Bonk.

HIM Entry XXXVIII:

“Well good morning _ Kyoshi _, how was your day? Kill anyone important yet?”

A Casual Morning Stroll and Archery Competition:

Toph ordered Wuhan to run back to Yu Dao, he kowtowed and rode off on an earth wave. Toph kicked the ground, jumped up and went through a pillar with her face. “Now we have a slide to go down,” she said, all cheerful. “But I don’t want-” my concerns were cut off by the ground coming out from under me. Toph was yelling, all happily, as she slid down what was once a pillar. I wasn’t as happy. I was screaming my lungs out but Toph made sure to grab me with an earth fist before I could fling myself off the side of the pillar and right off a cliff.

We walked along the burned fields, Toph putting them out with foot stomps as casually as...well its like she forgot she was in a _world ending war for the fate of the free world_. “So, whaddya do up in the air? Play airbender?” She punched my shoulder. I explained to her the tactics of aerial combat, all the nuance required, but was cut off by “boring! Didya kill anyone?” I laughed. “Aw, that’s so sweet!” And she inquired about who I killed, when and how. “Well I chopped a man’s leg off while he was flying through the air” and she grinned. She kicked the ground, halting me in my place. “Well _ I _ ripped some giant metal object open. I felt the bottom of it collide with the ground so I dived off and went through a pillar. A couple of ‘em jumped out before they landed and tried to attack me, calling me a ‘little girl’ so I tossed one of these pillars onto ‘em.” She punched a pillar we were walking past, making it topple over. “That’s pretty...unique” and she laughed. “Right? I’m just that awesome” and she kissed her fists. And she did it again. “Y’know, Boomerang says me kissing my fists is disgusting. You think that?” she asked, possibly serious. “Nah, fists are a great tool.” Her face got serious. “Good, because if you said it was I would’ve kicked you _ really _ hard” and she uppercutted my torso for significance.

This whole time, loud explosions were coming from somewhere off to our right. “Hey Toph shouldn’t we get involved with that? I think Aang’s-” she held a hand up to my face. “Twinkletoes will be fine. Plus I can't see the Flame King while he's pretending to be a airbender” A large gust of wind almost took me off my feet. Toph was fine, because she's Toph. She rooted herself. “That must be-” I was cut off by an orange speck whirring around above us. Behind him, a man with flamethrowers coming out his hands and feet. I dove for the ground, Toph must’ve sensed it or something so she made an earth dome to cover us. “Great, now I can’t see” I complained, forgetting who I was with. “Oh no, what a nightmare” _ I could feel the failed attempts at eye rolls _. 

I felt the top of the stone dome boiling. Toph grabbed me with an earth fist and ran _ away _ from the noise. “Why are we running away, Toph?” I called out. “I’m getting you one of those airplane things”. _ Well, that makes sense _ . Behind us, Katara and Zuko were teaming up against Ozai, and somehow none of them were exhausted yet. Katara picked up one of the many waterfalls that dot this mountain range and turned it to ice and fired it at Ozai. He shot a lightning bolt into the ice projectiles, disintegrating them and giving us all temporary blindness and a really loud boom to accompany the light show. I yelled out, forgetting I’m half a mile away from the duelists “stop attacking him with water!” but obviously nobody heard me. Aang was leading Ozai in circles while Zuko tried to get a shot in. Ozai was able to fire larger pillars _with his feet_ than Zuko with both his hands. And currently, he was melting Katara's ice spikes with his fire breath.

I assume Sokka and Suki were busy somewhere else as it’d be idiotic for a nonbender to attack the Fire Lord and giant blimps conduct electricity. Toph’s earth wave was very quick. Within a few minutes, the duelists turned to specks and I was taken into a recently, very recent, like made that second, tunnel and dropped off at the airfield, somehow not a massive crater. Looking ahead, Yu Dao was on fire. 

Druk was coming right towards us. Correction, a airship flying overhead. Inside the city, meanwhile, the horns blared. The ground shook as multiple small black dots were sent in rapid succession at this airship floating near us. Toph gave me one more punch on the shoulder “for some awesome kills!” and ran back through the tunnel. Druk used his claws to _tear the front of the gondola off_ and shoved his face inside. A second later, all the glass inside the airship was sent flying in all directions as the airship was consumed by a dragon-sized...dragon. Druk took his claws and, in a feat of brilliant wrestling, tackled the airship rudder-first into the mountainside. Loud creaking and even louder ripping ensued. The airship crumbled into one of those balls Toph would make for a pastime. Druk pulled his head back out, looked down at us puny humans and..._did he smile? Where's my whiskey? _

I tore my eyes out of this entertaining inferno of death and chose to continue my actual objective. I ran over to the stone structure. Royal Guards were running back and forth. Someone saw me and yelled out “His Majesty returns!” and the guards turned to me and bowed. “Go, go on doing whatever you were doing” I yelled to one man in particular, currently carrying some spears. General Song, by chance, was at the airbase. He was strolling along the middle of the airfield like nothing was happening. He had a red quiver at his side, filled with arrows. “Your Majesty, a pleasure!” he called out. “General, what are you doing here?” I asked him. He rubbed his stomach and laughed. “Look up, Your Majesty.” _If he means the airship, our local dragon just-_

I looked up at a hot air balloon only a hundred feet above us, descending the mountainside to our left. The _other_ part of the mountainside that isn't currently a fiery deathtrap raining men. When I swiveled around to look back towards Song, a red bow was in his hands. Within two seconds, he pulled an arrow out of the quiver and nocked it, holding the bow with the right hand and the drawstring with the left. He closed his right eye, aimed and _ twang _ the arrow escaped. It pierced the balloon, causing it to rapidly deflate. A second later, the two individuals inside jumped out, trying to use firebending to glide down to the ground. _ Twang. _ One of them was struck through the throat with an arrow. The other one kicked forwards, feet jets propelling him towards us. A second later, _ twang _. Right into the chest. Whether in confusion or rage, he went right into the ground, but before he could get up to attack us, Song was on top of him and cut his head off with his dao. A soldier ran up to the old man, giving him a cloth to clean the blade with. Sword in hand, he bowed to the decapitated body and sheathed his blade. “That’s what, Your Majesty”. 

Never in all my records have I seen a man so casually dispatch two nightmare-inducing clarions of death.

I shouted for an aircraft, some soldiers bowed with a “right away, Your Majesty” and ran inside. “When did you have time to learn that, General?” I asked. “Back when I was a cadet, becoming an officer meant you had to master archery, the way of the _ jian _, calligraphy and mathematics.” I nodded. “Write that down, I’m reinstating that as the national standard to become an officer”. 

Two soldiers pulled a monoplane out of the hanger. “May the Spirits protect you, Your Majesty!” I looked over the aircraft while conversing with Song. “So, Your Majesty, you’ve taken an interest in aerial combat?” he asked. I smiled. “Good, pardon my disrespect Your Majesty, its been too long since I saw the Earth King do much of anything.” I laughed at the comment. He immediately kowtowed, assuming offense. “No, no, General, you’re quite right.” and he got up. “Your Majesty, you ever fire a bow?” he asked. “Yes, in fact.” he smiled and eye-gestured _ something _. I stood there, looking down at my armor completely confused. “You don’t have a quiver!” he yelled in good humor, the guards currently dragging the two dead guys somewhere. He turned to his wards, dressed in soldier garb, and yelled. “Get this man a quiver and a bow, now!” The two bowed to him, turned and ran off. 

I finished my preflight check. Everything was working. Druk had moved on to flapping over Yu Dao. Iroh was pulling the flames off rooftops and the streets and _ redirecting _ the heat, firing it in a grey stream up to the sky. I got inside the monoplane, decorated like the rest of them, and buckled myself in. Song strolled up to me like he had all the time in the world, the loud booms behind us were just for show, right? and handed me a bow and a quiver with arrows. “Plant one in Lord Ozai for me, Your Majesty,” he said, patting me on the back. I stuck the arrows beneath my feet - there’s lots of legroom - and slid the bow into a slot for a scabbard, located next to the cushioned seat. 

A Royal Guard started up the propeller and I was taxiing. Around me, soldiers stopped what they were doing and pulled out their dao blades. Including Song. He shouted something I couldn’t hear over the engine, and they stuck the blade tips in the ground. I taxied back and forth on the repaired dirt strip, thanking the Mechanist underbreath for the wide tires. On either side, the soldiers in their gilded golden armor punched the air. I made my final pass and took off, waving to Song. 

I banked right and patterned over Yu Dao. The city was covered in massive craters. Whole districts, once packed with civilians, were just craters. Variously artillery installations across the city were still operational, thankfully. I caught Iroh’s gaze, waved to him and he waved back. Druk followed me with squinted eyes like some kind of owl cat following a bird in flight while Iroh petted him, probably going “no, Druk, that’s not food”. I flew low enough that my damned auburn queue and blue armor made people salute back with raised blades. I turned around upon crossing the city and went skywards. 

Ahead of me, the airship fleet was destroyed. Some dark colored dots darting across the sky signified at least _ some _ of my men were alive. I flew towards the massive flame pillar, as that was the only source of action. In was a couple minute flight, all the while I was overlooking the torched earth beneath off to my left or right. In some places, fires were still raging. Off on the horizon, the hinterland glowed orange. Behind me, the orange comet glowed as it slowly crossed the sky over the horizon to my south. Straight ahead of me? Fire Lord Ozai flying around like he’s a jet-propelled aircraft. _ Wait, that’s genius _ . Oh, and he _ noticed _ me. “Oh for spirits sake!” and I banked as hard as I possibly could. The human flamethrower, thankfully, was preoccupied with everyone else. 

Team Avatar vs. the Fire Lord:

I banked really, really hard. Breaking all previously set banking records, the last record was set this morning when we banked to the right to dive on the airships. I found myself not far above the pillars, looking off to my right I saw Katara try the waterfall attack again. It failed, though this time Ozai disintegrated it with fire. Just plane old fire. A hundred feet tall, as wide as a pillar fire.

_Why don’t they attack at the same time?_ I was thinking to myself. The logical answer is that they are all tired. Katara fell backwards, toppling off the extra-exposed pillar she was standing on. Her boyfriend -_note to self, remember to restart Air Nation_ _for trade routes _\- rescued her with a airspout while Zuko dueled Ozai for, what, the fifth time? Toph was nowhere to be seen. Probably just the way she likes it. Sokka and Suki were the only airship still afloat, I’d assume.

I banked a large circle to watch what was happening. Zuko copped a lightning shot to the chest to protect his enemies-turned-acquaintances-turned-enemies-turned friends. I assume he’s fine because everyone knows angst is _ the _ best medicine. Katara rushed to grab him, now on top of this plateau-pillar. Aang, meanwhile, charged at Ozai channelling earth in one hand and fire in the other. _ Time to try something _ . I turned inwards and flew right at the Fire Lord. Ozai _ visibly _ laughed this assault off and knocked Aang back with a fire blast. Just as he jumped forward to deliver a blow, my screaming “Morning Your Hotness!”, or my propeller, dunno, caught his attention. He turned to look at me and got hit in the face with a _ gust of air _ . _ Great combo, Aang _ . _Hit him with the intensity of a morning breeze_. 

I flew past him and realized my bow skills could be put to better use, so I landed in a nearby clearing. I took my gear and strolled towards the forest of pillars. “Wait, what am _ I _ going to do to the Fire Lord who can breathe flames?” I asked myself. By coincidence, the Avatar was flying over to me on jet flames. _ Great _. The Fire Lord, of course, follows him and tried to do one of his “I’m going to launch flames out of my hands and feet” moves but was caught off guard by Aang whacking him with a gust of air. The Fire Lord kicked Aang with a fire kick, sending the boy flying into a rock pillar. Appa took off from the pillar forest, Katara likely at the reins. Ozai punched a fire blast at Aang, who wasn’t moving, and I realized I had my opportunity. I grabbed my whiskey flask I was carrying around, yelled “Hey Hotness!” and tossed it at him. It broke on his head, causing him to stumble backwards.

The Earth Queen’s Finest Hour:

Ozai _landed_ and strolled over to the downed Avatar, his head resting against the rock pillar. "You're weak, just like the rest of your people! They did not deserve to exist in this world ... in my world! Prepare to join them. Prepare to die!" and he coiled up a fire blast.

The ground quaked... _ Not quakes, Toph _ . He launched a fireball at Aang but was blocked by a massive earth wall. Toph emerged, coated in dirt. “What’s this, some dirt girl?” Ozai laughed. Toph stomped the ground, grabbing him with three earth plates, exposing only his head. He tried to break out of the plates with his firebending, the flames were coming out from between the cracks. She clenched her left hand and tightened her grip. His cocky expression became one of innate terror. His face lost all its color. I ran up to her side, grabbing an arrow. “I’m the Earth Queen, and you gotta _deal with it_” she proudly said as she _took control_ of my arrow with her right hand.

Fire Lord Ozai, the most powerful firebender in the world, squealed like a pig-chicken. With her right hand she planted it in his eye. "An eye for an eye!" His fire breath vanished. He was gone.

“Toph, you rule!” she yelled._  
_

And Her Imperial Majesty kissed her fists.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Book 2 is over! Thank you all so much for reading this!


	39. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Book 3! AU-Post Sozin's Comet begins here. Destiny, the hell is that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Serious topics get derailed by nonsense faster than it took Toph to kill Ozai.

HIM Entry XXXIX:

“You weren’t supposed to kill him!” he yelled, regaining consciousness.

The Battle Ends:

Katara jumped off Appa and helped Aang to his feet. Upon closer inspection, most of his clothes were torn apart and his arms and legs were bloody. Aang walked over to Toph and repeated his yell. Toph was feeling Ozai's throat, torn up by the earth plates, getting her hands covered in blood which she then wiped down on her green wrestler outfit. Toph spun around and jumped _over_ Aang with a casual earth pillar to tackle me. “Aw, Kyoshi, we did it!” and she kissed my cheek. I resisted the urge to push her off, and stared up at the sky, at the full moon, while she continued to hug me. “Toph, you’re surrounded by foreigners” I whispered to her, which made her stiffen up, accidentally knee me in the wrong spot, and jump up. “I wasn’t doing anything” she waved her hands. I sighed.

An airship came in to land and parked further down the clearing. Katara, meanwhile, was examining the deceased Fire Lord. Zuko's mouth dropped and was staring without words. Aang was on his knees, almost at tears. Toph tapped the ground and helped me up with some encouraging earth pillars. I checked my gear was still intact and walked over to Katara, who looked at my quiver and at the arrow lodged in the Fire Lord’s head. I reached to pull it out, but she stopped me. Zuko called out. “Wasn’t it the Avatar’s destiny to kill the Fire Lord?” Toph shrugged. “Maybe? Twinkletoes took too long. And if I didn't show up he'd be dead." and she threw up her hands in _I-don't-care_.

Sokka and Suki arrived, with Sokka yelling out “wow, good job-” and as he noticed the blood fountain, he came to a halt. Suki seemed to finish his thought. “this wasn't Aang.” she looked at my bow “you shot him with an arrow?” I shook my head and pointed at a dancing Toph. “Took the arrow out of my quiver and flung it through his eye.” Suki raised her eyebrows in surprise. Affixed on the dancing Earth Queen, she let out a small smile. “Well done, Your Majesty”. Sokka ran over to deal with a crying Aang. “Had I killed him, I’d have abandoned my teachings, making the Air Nomads extinct, just as he wanted” Aang let out between bursts of crying. “I don’t know what you’re so worried about, Twinkletoes. You didn’t kill him. I did. Didya see his face?” I smiled and nodded, because I did. “Well I didn’t see his face but I felt his heartbeat drop like a stone!” and she punched the air in approval. Everyone else seemed to be suffering from shock. Especially Zuko, who felt his father's beard, looked into his frightened eyes _and fell over_.

“Well, Team Avatar, what do you want to do with the body?” she asked. The rest of them stared at us like we were crazy. “Toph, let’s mail the head to Caldera” I suggested. “Brilliant idea, Kyoshi! Let’s do this back in Yu Dao”. Aang stood. “So you showed up from nowhere, killed him, and desecrated his body? Doesn’t he deserve a burial?” Toph nodded, Zuko arose from his faceplant and mumbled something. “What was that, Zuko?” Katara asked, hands on hips. “He might be the Fire Lord but he was an awful man. He doesn’t deserve a burial”. Toph grabbed his body and rode off to Yu Dao on an earth wave. "Father-" Zuko muttered something, also seemingly on the verge of tears.

The rest of them looked at me. “You’re all invited to a celebratory dinner at the Colonial Palace, tonight”, I bowed and ran off for my monoplane. Aang wasn’t _visibly_ crying anymore. "Toph...saved me". “Oh, and Zuko, how did you survive a lightning bolt?” I yelled while standing next to the propeller. “Katara” he nodded to her. I rolled my eye. _ Yes, of course Katara. But how _ . I called Suki over to start my propeller while everyone else was gathered around Aang. She was the only one of all of them who wasn’t in shock. “Well, cousin, you were right I guess. Aang _ was _ too weak. I would side with him, but Yangchen was an Air Nomad, Kyoshi was half Air Nomad, and both of them killed dozens of tyrants. Safe travels!” she turned and ran back to her boyfriend. My aircraft started up, I taxied down this clearing, back and forth, and took off. Team Avatar boarded Appa and took off after me. 

The air fleet was entirely destroyed and while black smoke still filled the air, the battle was over. I looked up to the moon and pointed at it, yelling “I hope you had a good show!”. Maybe I was just in shock, but I wasn't feeling this whole existential crisis everyone else was feeling. And I don't think Toph was either. I saw Yu Dao, the fires were all but gone, thanks Iroh, but it still smelled of smoke and scorned bodies. Druk surprised me from nowhere, Iroh coming alongside and waving to me. “Thank you, Iroh!” I yelled back, waving. He smiled and pulled back to follow my monoplane. Upon coming down to the airfield, I was greeted with cheers from below. I slowed my aircraft down, patterned back and forth over the airfield, and came down for the landing. My aircraft was halted by earthbenders pushing the earth underneath my aircraft backwards, slowing it down while also being in place. Druk landed right behind me, his intimidating whiskers and strong breath of fire was a pleasant surprise. I jumped out of my monoplane, held my hands to the air in a Toph pose, and was greeted with the entire garrison punching the air. 

Never Forget Yu Dao:

I stood atop a platform, looking around. Five men emerged from the stone building, lock step, and walked up to my monoplane, turned and stood shoulder-to-shoulder. In their right hands, jian scabbards. Atop their heads, green belts with a red coin in the middle. The Mechanist arrived, his face was quite serious. “Five. That’s all we have.” I gripped my scabbard and pulled my blade out. Iroh stood next to Druk, sensing something serious. 

“This morning, I didn’t think any of us would come back alive.” the crowd lowered their heads in melancholy. Appa arrived, landing down the runway. I eyed them and continued. “This morning, _ we _ sallied out." I made sure to point at the five men and at myself. The crowd got the idea. "This morning, seven men paid the ultimate price. What do we say to those who did, men?” They pulled out their jians and punched the air while holding them. “Their mothers and sisters are proud of them!” Aang and his friends strolled over, earning no bows from guards. Everyone was fixated on me, most soldiers were crying or holding back tears. “We will never forget them!” The crowd repeated it, in a chant. 

Through a tunnel, Toph emerged, dirty and bloody, right next to my platform. The whole crowd stared at her, bowing. Some were gasping “is that Ozai?” She let go of the body, revealing his iconic beard. I pointed at the body. “Fire Lord Ozai, everyone” and the crowd _ erupted _in cheers. “Long Live the Earth Queen” and “Ten Thousand Years” were repeated en masse. Team Avatar looked on, Iroh’s eyes went wide and he walked over to the body. He collapsed on his knees, but he wasn’t crying. He had this look of fury...of disappointment... at Ozai’s face. Toph interrupted the reunion, gripped Ozai’s body and dropped him on the platform. 

The cheering attracted an army of dust-covered men and women. They staggered over to the airfield and looked up at Toph and I. “And now, I’m going to mail this head to _ Azula _ . Teach her how we deal with tyrants in the Earth Kingdom!” Toph yelled out. The dust covered crowd gasped. The soldiers cheered. “Kyoshi, his head.” and she stepped back. Team Avatar, except Suki, went wide-eyed. Katara covered her eyes, now _she_ was weeping. Aang turned around. Zuko looked on with...indifference. I drew my jian, held it above his head, looking down at the face of the tyrant, and swung my blade. _ Slice _. The crowd bowed. “Long Live the Earth Queen!” they chanted. I held up his head, allowing the crowd to admire the tyrant. Then Toph grabbed his head and held it up, earning cheers.

I stepped down and met with Toph. She had the head wrapped up and sent it west on a Fire Navy cruiser requisitioned from one of the Colonies’ docks. The head would be catapulted into Caldera City. Toph announced, through me, “Her Imperial Majesty has approved creating three new medals. One for civilians...” which earned rousing applause, “...one for those that fought on the ground and in the air, and a posthumous medal for the seven sons who paid the ultimate price to stop the air fleet” which got us cheers and cries of “Long live Your Majesty”.

Toph and I departed for Yu Dao, followed by a massive entourage of people. The five men walked behind us in lockstep, followed by bannermen, a tiny detachment of Royal Guards as most were busy, and a mob of civilians covered in dust.

Yu Dao was in tatters. Walking down the main avenue, Toph sealed craters, and looking off to the left and right, I saw craters where houses once were. Rubble was strewn about everywhere. Lots of people were digging through debris off on our sides. I can’t really put into writing what it looked like. Imagine a city block, now imagine the center of the block is a crater and the corners are half-destroyed houses. Plus, everything has a thick layer of dust covering it. Looking around, I peered into half-ruined houses. A dining room to the left, rubble breaking the table in two. A practice room to the right, the wooden floorboards were smashed. A bedroom of a second story house to the left, the bunk bed was toppled over. Dolls, broken paintings, and shards of teacups dotted the street. In some places, houses were fine, save the roof tiles being gone. A firebender might’ve punched a bomb before it detonated. We passed the street where the massive...phoenix...prow lay. It dug into the ground upon impact. Every so often, we’d see a hot air balloon, having crashed to the ground, the balloon itself hung over a ruined house. In one place, an old man was sitting on a dining room chair, without legs, now located far outside his house, and he bowed slightly. We passed the commercial district. Leveled. Produce was in tiny pieces, all over the place. The teahouse had it’s second story blown off. Glass shards littered the street beneath us. We’d also encounter lots of civilians, stumbling over themselves, some lying against buildings, some wandering around aimlessly. And yet, when they saw Toph and I, they tried their best to stand -usually some civilians in our group would grab them and help them up- and they’d bow. If they couldn’t bow, they’d cheer. If they couldn’t cheer, they tilted their head slightly. 

We got to the Colonial Palace and went inside. The doors barely muffled their cheers and chants. We were both covered in ash. Toph commented that “even if I love a layering of dirt, this isn’t dirt” and ripped off her wrestler outfit. “So, Kyoshi, care for a shower?” she asked, which might’ve been one of the most surprising things I heard all day. “Sure, why not” and struggled and failed to remove my Armor. “Oh, let me” she laughed, and with a flick of her wrist, pulled the armor off. I slid out of my now very sweaty clothing and joined her for a shower.

Of course, once we got back out, got dried up and retrieved a jar of dirt, “just in case”. She gave both of ourselves a light coating of it before our assistants came to help us into our Robes. She kicked open the window to our bedroom as “I hear a crowd”. Upon opening, she was greeted with cheers. She called me over, “you’re the speech guy” and I stood in the hole in the wall. Beneath me, a crowd of dusty individuals and the five pilots from earlier with Royal Guards and regular soldiers, male and female, interspersed with the rest. I couldn’t give a speech, I was too hungry and my mind wasn’t coming up with any speech ideas not-food related. So I bowed. The crowd cheered. 

Toph hosted a private lunch in the downstairs room. She had Team Avatar summoned. Wuhan stood outside, guarding the door, and we waited for an hour for them to arrive. In the meantime, General Song met with us and I stamped the Imperial Seal on a new poster design that would be copied and sent across the Kingdom using the standardized printing press.

From top to bottom. Sozin’s Comet arching over the sky. Beneath it, a yellow sun with a biplane eclipsing it, flying right to left. A mountain range spikes across the top middle In the middle, a blood red earth coin covers the mountainside. At the bottom, a metal tube in the process of firing a projectile from atop a building. Building silhouettes behind it. At the bottom, “Never Forget Yu Dao” in large print. 

After approving the poster, Wuhan asked if we’d consider his designs, but we were interrupted by news of Team Avatar arriving.

Celebratory Late-Lunch or Early-Dinner:

The five of them sat down at their own table while we sat at ours. Appetizers were brought out, Toph reclined in her seat, picking her toes, currently wrinkling the really expensive court dress but its not like she cares. Aang seemed to have recovered from the shock earlier, at least enough that he visibly didn’t look like a trainwreck. He was also wearing tattered clothes, though his wounds were patched up. The rest of them had this look of _what just happened_.

Toph starts things off with a blast, asking Zuko “so, you want the Dragon Throne?” He gave us this _ I’m-confused _ scowl. “What Her Imperial Majesty is trying to say is, we can get you on the Dragon Throne”. Everyone else, bar Suki, looked at us like we were crazy. “Guys, didn’t we try this a few months ago?” Aang asked, also confused. “Well, Sozin’s Comet came and went, right?” Toph began. “Yes…and-” “And we aren’t all a bunch of burnt crisps.” Toph grinned. “What’s your point?” Sokka stole Zuko’s question. I chose to speak for Toph. 

“Ozai’s gonzo. Azula’s bonkers and more importantly dragonless. The Fire Nation lost its colonies, its fleet is gone, its air fleet burns to our north, it’s dragon belongs to Iroh and now it’s industrial might is _ our _ industrial might”. Before Aang could begin with a tirade on evil modernization or something, I cut him off and continued. “So now we can take as much time as we need to and launch an operation that will end this war once and for all” and I pumped my fist in approval of my own statement, as you do. Toph was amused and applauded my fist pump. Katara and Aang shared a look and Katara countered. “Well, we thought...dealing with Ozai would end the war.” Toph laughed. “I assume none of you have gone to school for strategy, right? I mean I haven’t, but Kyoshi might’ve.” and she jabbed my shoulder with her toe-picking hand. I coughed. _ Time to wing it _.

“Princess Azula is likely going to become Fire Lord Azula once she finds out her pops is nothing more than a kickball...” saying this, like _ this _ , made Aang disgusted but that’s his problem. “...our overseas spies told us that Ozai declared himself 'Phoenix King,' because when you’re the monarch you can just invent titular titles, Azula’s coronation was going to be either today or soon. And she’s probably going to be _ pissed _ that her pop is, ‘ _ unfortunately _’, just a kickball…” Again, disgusted Aang and angry-faced Katara. “...As a result, we still have the Fire Nation to fight.” Everyone had their own response, scowls, anger, for Sokka boredom, in the case of Suki a smirk, except Aang who was confused. “Then why not put Zuko on the throne?” Katara asked. “Why don’t we get started on it?” Suki asked. “And how do you plan on having me fix this when I’m on the throne?” Zuko stated, as if being Fire Lord was some disappointment. “You can invent titular titles? What’s a tit-u-lar title.” Sokka paid attention to that and only that. 

Toph nudged me to respond to his question. “Why yes, Sokka. As a monarch, I can invent titular titles. Don’t ask what they are, it's confusing. Think of it as a monarch inventing a title to give themselves even more power or a stronger claim on something. In the Earth Kingdom, the monarch has infinite power. Previous Kings didn’t because they were puppets but Her Imperial Majesty makes use of her power. For instance, if I wanted to make up a title, let's say Protector of the Mo Ce Sea, I could just do that.” For absolutely no reason, my brain made a connection. “Wait, was this a breast joke?” Sokka tried to cover his snickering. It failed. Katara leaned over to look at him dead in the eyes and whispered “I. will. end. you.” and failed to notice the rest of us, sans Toph, watching her do this. “Lady Katara, I regret to inform you that everyone in this room heard that” I said, formally as possible. Sokka let out a slight chuckle, rose and “excused himself” and dragged Suki off to a guest bedroom, with Toph’s permission of course. Which she granted with a “alright” and a hand wave.

Toph continued from where I left off. Somewhat. “So, Zuko, whaddya think. Dragon Throne?” He slumped forward and sighed. “Do I have to make these decisions right now?” he groaned. “Nope!” she grinned. “Sugar Queen, how’s your boyfriend? He sounds tired.” Katara blushed. “He’s not...I…” and she threw her hands up in disgust. “Where exactly is Azula? She could be coming here today!” Katara had an anxiety attack for no reason. 

“She’s probably in Kyoshi’s bedroom”. “What” I yelled. She turned to me, grinning. “Come on, wouldn’t you love…” she made sure to jab me in the shoulder “...to sleep with two world leaders at once” she jabbed me in the shoulder again. “I mean,” she jabbed me even harder in the shoulder. “Well, yes, but only if you would join in.” I mumbled. The other three varied between muffled laughter, Zuko, confusion, Aang and shock, Katara. Toph stood and proudly yelled. “Of course I would. I’d organize it!” she then sent an earth pillar over to Zuko’s seat. “Hey, Zuko, whaddya say. Join in, you and me.” Zuko stopped laughing when he realized she was talking _ to _ him and gave her a _ Isn’t-that-wrong _ scowl. “That’s disgusting, Toph!” Katara caused the soup she was given to become a ball that turned to ice. 

We ate lunch for a few more minutes, Sokka and Suki were _ definitely _ having fun in the guest bedroom. Toph tossed her steak out the window. “So, Sugar Queen, you want kids that are somewhat royalty?” Katara gave us her iconic _ where-is-this-going _ look. _ She should’ve known _ . “But...Aang…” she got cut off. “Well if you aren’t dating-” Toph stood up, pointing at her. “I order you to become Kyoshi’s bastardmaker!” Katara yelled “you can’t do that.” Toph laughed, playing with her bangs. “I’m the Earth Queen. I can do that.” Katara got even more ticked off. “But-”. “No buts” Katara got all shocked and switched to her _ I’m-going-to-bloodbend-you _ face. “Well, you are dating the Avatar, right?” Toph asked in her _ well,are you _ voice. “I mean…” and she blushed a bunch. “I know the answer is yes.” she whispered into my ear. “By order of the Earth Queen, you are to get started on repopulating the Air Nomads”. Aang blushed, Katara got into her _ water-whip-time _ stance. Zuko grabbed the Fire Whiskey, downed the whole bottle in one drink, and sat down on a couch. 

“But the Earth Queen isn’t a higher power than the Avatar, right?” Aang asked, serious. “Well, Your Holiness, High Priest Li returned the favor for, quote ‘as a thank you for all those tavern wenches’, to write an edict that states that the Earth Queen is closer to the Spirits, they favor her or something.” Katara yelled out “that’s not true” while Aang yelled out “what are tavern wenches?” _ Oh no _ . “The Avatar has more power than the Earth Queen!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. Toph sat back in her chair, playing with her bangs. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you over my successful defense of the free world and the sounds of my artillery pieces pointing at you”. Katara lowered her raised finger. “Anyways, Sugar Queen, I’m off to make an heir.” Katara raised her finger. “ _ Kyoshi _, remove your pants, get on the table, and relax. Threading a needle with an artillery shell is quite difficult.” “What?!?” Katara screamed. “Hey, she meant later.” I tried to correct her. “That’s disgusting!” Of course, we weren’t going to do anything. Toph’s objective was to annoy Katara. She succeeded. Katara dragged Aang and stormed out of the dinner. "Finally, peace and quiet" she relaxed. "But didn't you invite-oh forget it" and I went back to eating my steak. We finished dinner and went off to bed.

Aang and Katara, star-crossed lovers:

A few hours later, I got bored of reading _ On Ruling a Kingdom _ by the Grand Secretariat of the 51st Earth King so I got up from the bed and left. Toph shrieked out “ah, my foot rest!” when her feet hit the ground. She popped up and threatened to pummel me, but I left too quickly and she was just too tired to give chase. The Guards didn’t grab me because she didn’t order them too, that or maybe I was just too fast and they didn’t care enough to. See, Toph could just use one of our thousands of pillows for a foot rest but nope. So I’m stuck with her feet slowly eroding my rib cage and she gets to sleep well without sensing every single person making love in Yu Dao.

Wandering around the Colonial Palace, I stumbled into Sokka. “That was pretty funny earlier, Your Earthliness”. We laughed. “So, you got any good stuff?” he nudged my shoulder. “Whiskey?” and he laughed. “Right this way”. We walked down to the ground floor and into the spirits cellar. Amidst dusty cabinets, two bottles of whiskey that are dated “year fifty, reign of Sozin”. The liquid shimmered like gold. “Oh you _ know _ we are taking this” and Sokka grabbed the two bottles. The Guards bowed to me but otherwise could probably sense, judging by my wearing of an informal robe, that I wasn’t up for long conversations. “I’m also looking for Suki, have you seen her?” I shrugged. “Nope.” 

We were wandering one of the upper floors when Sokka said, “so, I’ve been getting bored practicing calligraphy, let’s get some fresh air?” I laughed. “Fresh air _ and _ fine spirits, there’s no better combination” So I led him to the nearest balcony and kicked open the door. Standing right next to the railing, Aang and Katara embracing in a kiss as the sun set behind them. I got behind Sokka, might as well let him get the fall since it _was_ his idea.

“Hey guys” he walked in unaware. When he finally noticed them, he shrieked. Aang, in slightly less tattered Air Nomad robes yelled “We’re not doing anything out here!” and Katara gave him a lecture on knocking. I stepped forward, stating “Well, I do own the Palace.” so Katara gave _ me _a lecture on knocking. Sokka had a genius, war winning counter to this. “It’s your sisterly duty to avoid giving me the oogies”. Katara turned the kind of red that isn’t associated with blushing and conjured water out of thin air, wait no she had her waterskin on her side, and slapped him with a snowball. 

“Well, congrats on the love, Avatar.” I bowed to the still-really-blushing Aang. “Oh, and take this”. And I handed him Sokka’s bottle of whiskey. “It’s a bottle of whiskey from the time of Sozin.” Katara plucked it out of my hand and uncorked it with waterbending. “How thoughtful” she smiled. Aang held up his hand and rejected it. “Oh I’m so sorry, I forgot he doesn’t drink” she said, annoyed. And she _ tossed the bottle over the balcony. _ It shattered into a million pieces below . Sokka and I began crying, _ weeping _ , _ mourning _ .

I took my whiskey bottle and gave it to Toph as a "congratulations on saving the world" gift instead. She appreciated it and we downed it together before falling asleep from exhaustion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, a Imperial Technological Parade is organized!


	40. Organizing a Celebratory Parade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sozin's Comet is over. Yu Dao recovers. Toph is now a goddess amongst men. Aang is vilified. A bunch of wise-asses decide to parade all the latest technology for the whole world to see. Mostly just a excuse to have big cannons.

HIM Entry XL:

In honor of Her Imperial Majesty's victory at Yu Dao; The Mechanist, General How and I worked together to organize the first multinational event in recorded history: The Imperial Technological Exposition and Parade. The following is a recording of the past month of events preceding that. 

Metalbending Armies, Propaganda Posters and a Goddess:

A few days after Sozin’s Comet, while Yu Dao smoldered, General How had an idea: “What if we held an event to demonstrate the new technology in development? It would be a great recruitment drive for Colonials and it would be a great arrow-in-the-eye for the Fire Nation.” Toph loved the idea of “smelling the sweet sweet smell of modernization” and had the proposition stamped _upside down_ because she did it herself. We had to rewrite it and I had to 'assist' her this time and we actually got the paperwork on the way to going somewhere that isn't the burner.

Toph spends her mornings trying to train soldiers to metalbend. Whereas the Royal Guard were elite benders to begin with and as a result picked up metalbending ‘easily’ according to Toph, most earthbenders were far from it. Many times, Toph, dressed in her wrestler outfit, will stop her morning training, turn, find me, and tell me “these people will never get it” all angrily. Almost as angry as she was when "Twinkletoes didn't keep his knees high". Its not because the average soldier isn’t loyal, or doesn’t listen. On the contrary, after Toph's victory, soldiers hail her as a goddess walking among them. Under official documentation, when we'd previously use the term In the name of the Spirits, we are required to use In the Name of Her Imperial Majesty. Toph herself didn't approve this, the Minister of Coronations did. I guess those decades of experience finally payed off, after all. It makes sense. She surpassed Aang in strength and personally defeated Ozai. Of course she'd be seen as a goddess. Back to the soldiers' errors. Its because they simply aren’t skilled. I always give her the same advice, “go speak to the Three. Personally, not everyone will become a metalbender”. She learned that despite her being an amazing bender and being surrounded by amazing benders -between Earth Rumbles, the Royal Guard and the secret police- most earthbenders will “never get it”. Out of two hundred soldiers she trains per day, one or two might pick it up. That’s it. She thinks it's all about how much training a soldier put into it, I think it might just be genetic. 

Iroh set off with Druk to go back to the Jasmine Dragon. “I must return to the Jasmine Dragon to collect my allies”. We have already sent dozens of messages to inform the Royal Guards and to be spread across the city that Druk’s on our side. Unsurprisingly, much of the population panicked when the dragon's wings eclipsed the Upper Ring once again. But this time, the hundreds of posters set up prevented most of the rioting. We still couldn't do anything about Zuko, though. Somehow the Dragon of the West earned not-hatred through good teamaking and being the Grandmaster of the White Lotus. But Zuko? Traitor to all sides. Even the honor, whatever little there may be, of siding with a tyrant was lost on him.

The Avatar, for instance, may become an amazing bender, but in Toph’s words, “he could never become a metalbender”. The running joke between the Generals is “the day the Avatar metalbends is the day we resign”. Then again, Prince Iroh -now reinstated as Prince-in-exile by Her Imperial Majesty’s edicts - believes “a Water Avatar would be much better at adapting to this bending style, as metalbending appears to be as fluid as waterbending”. As such, the betting odds have changed from Aang learning to metalbend to the Water Avatar. Knowing Kyoshi's blood, I'll probably live long enough to see my own bets pay off. Plus, if a Water Avatar learns bloodbending _and_ metalbending, they'll be completely unstoppable.

The Avatar took off shortly after the Comet, apparently off to “travel the world for inspiration” or something. The Dai Li claim he's sowing dissent across the Colonies. Sokka was heartbroken when Suki told him she “actually has a job, you know.” But she also promised that she’d give him “a fun time” when he returns, and kissed him on the cheek. To say he -the Avatar- is liked by the citizens of Yu Dao is a massive overstatement. The public was asked for their opinions on the Avatar. Most people said something along the lines of “where was he when Yu Dao burned?” His name is associated with booing. "He vanished a hundred years ago and he vanished again". As much as I would want to tell them the truth, a) Toph _did_ kill Ozai, Aang didn't and b) The dozen new poster designs we developed didn’t help this sentiment.

Many designs were brought forward by the famous Court Painter -still don’t know his name- who drew the now famous _ The Queen at the Jasmine Dragon. _Toph, obviously, still doesn't care for paintings, but I got to approve or reject certain ideas. The approved ones include but aren't limited to the following:

A green-winged biplane in the foreground charging a zeppelin in the background with a man on the front catwalk launching an endless flame pillar at the ground. Sozin’s Comet, artist liberties taken, crosses the sky above the zeppelin. The real comet isn’t some Fire Nation painting, it was so insignificant to the real battle, save the intimidating glow, none of the pilots’ accounts even mention it. Not to mention, of course, it didn’t actually cross over our heads. This was a completely made up scenario, no pilot would’ve charged the metallic monstrosities head on. Also, it wasn’t daytime when we first ‘charged’ them. Plus, the only actual biplane present was Wuhan’s and I don’t recall doing something _ that _ stupid. On the bottom of the poster, “Join Her Imperial Majesty’s Air Corps” 

A monoplane in the background circling a hot air balloon, the Fire Nation black teardrop enlarged in the foreground. Sozin’s Comet, again drawn in Fire Nation style, crossing the sky behind the aircraft. This was definitely an event that happened, without the Comet. However, the aircraft has a red earth coin painted on the side. Same subtitle as before. 

Me, dressed in pilot’s clothes, except with a less-ornate cape, leaning on the side of a biplane, scabbard in hand. The biplane has ten small black teardrops painted onto the bright green wood. Beneath the painting, “Join HIM in the sky!” The words were intended to function both as ‘him’ and shorthand ‘His Imperial Majesty’. This image is genuine, that is, it is based on an event that happened. The Painter requested I come to stand next to one of the Mechanist’s biplanes, painted bright green. I showed up, he had me changed into pilot gear and a ‘new’ cape, with the goggles wrapped around my forehead and hair in a topknot. A soldier painted ten small black teardrops beneath the cockpit. “For the ten people you killed”. Nobody ever confirmed that those balloon pilots were all dead. I assume they based it off the account I gave after the dinner, “I destroyed five balloons, but one pilot escaped and I killed a different pilot in mid-air”. The Mechanist, named the interim General of the Flying Fleet, has decided that “getting ten kills will earn you a medal”. Why ten? I said I got ten. As a result, getting ten or more than ten is an achievement. 

A different painting featured Yu Dao heavily. Zeppelins were flying over the mountain range while soldiers in the foreground launched metal projectiles at them. One projectile was in the process of exploding upon contact with the zeppelin. One projectile was in the process of being launched. Other citizens, Colonials, were aiming a ballista. The text, “Join the Colonial Corps and defend Your Homeland”. Now, Yu Dao didn’t have ballistas. Other Colonies did, but the Fire Nation “pulled them out” to send them to “forward garrisons”, or so I’m told. 

The Court Painter happened to be a creative man. One of these paintings was of a Fire Navy cruiser in the foreground, painted green, with a red earth coin flag, docked off the shores of Yu Dao. The air fleet was in the background, an endless tide of fire spewing down towards the city. The cruiser had one of the metal tubes on it, with two soldiers firing a metal projectile from it while a man dressed in Colonial wear stood at the prow, clutching a sword, pointing at the city. In reality, no ships were used in the Defense of Yu Dao. The text was “Join the Colonial Navy!” I approved it on the grounds of recruitment, even if this image was such fantasy it was almost offensive. The Mechanist saw this painting, despite this, and fainted in shock. We carried him to the Infirmary and I waited at his bedside until he awoke again. When he came to, he was screaming of “what a genius idea!” I had no idea what he was referring to at first, but he ran off to “find the Painter”. He did, and showed me the painting and kept pointing at the metal tube. _ Oh _. “Put metal tubes on ships?” I asked him. “Yup!” he clenched his wooden fingers in happiness and ran off to the dockyards. By the way, the dockyards survived the battle untouched, thanks to anti-air defenses and the entire region around it being devoid of flammable materials.

The event planning, as schemed by How, entailed the following:

Her Imperial Majesty and His Imperial Majesty would take seats atop the western gates to the city. I logically explained that Toph has no interest in flight or naval actions, he agreed with my statement, but Toph, surprisingly, insisted to come “as there’s lots of cool machinery that’s supposed to arrive, right?” 

A parade would take place on the wide north-south thoroughfare outside the western walls. Civilians from the city are expected to arrive in droves to see it. In addition, trains have ferried news across the Colonies and ferried interested individuals from the far corners of the Kingdom to see the parade. Much of the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se desires seeing the payoff for their labor.

The Royal Guard are to march first, give a demonstration of their metalbending skills, then take positions in formation to watch the rest of the event. 

The Rebel Hong is to be paraded down the road, along with his top living aides, where he will be tried. He was captured hiding in the Si Wong Desert around the same time as the Comet. The General of the South chased him down to the Palm Oasis or some name akin to that. The Imperial forces marched through the town and were attacked in the streets by his rebels, with Hong emerging from an brothel wielding two warhammers and was captured nearly instantly as he’s a terrible fighter.

The Imperial Army’s Armored Corps are to follow. First the ‘new’ model of tank, some kind of smaller tank I haven’t seen yet. Then the caterpillar tanks that were ‘pivotal’ in the pacification of other Colonies. General Fong’s -few- reports mention that the tanks were resistant to firebending attacks and were extra useful in street fighting. Their only downside was that enemy earthbenders could rip off the sheets. However, enemy earthbenders were few and far between. Heavy stone bombardments tended to fix any earthbender problems.

Speaking of, the Colonial War didn’t end as simply as we all thought. I mentioned that a civil war brewed, but only recently, that is, with the arrival of General Fong, did we receive news that the Colonies were pacified. Some Colonies had Fire Nation garrisons to defend them, the phantom 3rd Army. As a result, most pro-Kingdomers were hemmed into corners. Had Fong not -disobeyed orders- diverted westwards to pacify the Colonies, we’d face a full-on guerilla war. Instead, he simply marched down the coast, following the coastal roads, and quite literally crushed any Fire Nation loyalists underfoot. 

Most pro-Kingdomers were fighting a war of attrition within their hometowns. They were forced into enclaves. Fong arrived with tanks, the Fire Nation had few or none, and our tanks work best in city fighting. By the time of the comet, he reached the southernmost Colony. The Lady of Shirahama was perhaps the only Colonial Governor who peacefully surrendered. Due to an overwhelming support from the populace, she was allowed to maintain her position as Governor. 

After the Armored Corps, the newly minted Artillery Corps. The Mechanist had a genius idea to stick a metal tube on the back of one of his trucks and boom, long range artillery. Of course, metalbenders could just carry the metal tube, but he and his entire research department love the idea of mobilized artillery platforms. And the Mechanist was clever. His “speech” on why we _ needed _ it included twenty utterances of “giant fuckoff cannon”. Telling Toph about the “big boom power” of something is like telling Sokka he is allowed to use his boomerang in a fight. As such, she ordered a battalion be built. The Artillery Corps will give a demonstration of their training by firing out to sea.

After the Artillery Corps, the Air Corps. I don’t know how many aircraft will be present, but Teo and the Five will come first, performing aerobatics. After them, “a couple more biplanes” according to How. 

Afterwards, some detachments of the Imperial Army will march through. Each detachment consists of veterans of “a certain campaign waged in the name of Her Imperial Majesty”. 

The Colonial Corps would be next. They will march through, giving a basic mixed bending demonstration, and form up at the end. 

Lastly, Fire Navy cruisers, repainted, will arrive. They were requisitioned from dockyards across the Colonies. They are currently based at a dockyard connected to the somewhat-rebuilt military depot destroyed during the Comet. The cruisers will fire off a volley of metal shells, as all the cruisers now have artillery in place of trebuchets.

After, civilians were to be allowed to walk up to the various pieces of technology and ask questions from the drivers and operators. The reason it is called a Technological Exposition is because all kinds of new technology, prototypes in some cases, will be demonstrated. 

Toph and I spent the night before the parade trying to wrestle each other, as reigning monarchs should be expected to do, according to myself. Toph cheated, using earthbending to shake the ground and cause me to fall over, but I guess that’s what I deserve for wrestling the greatest earthbender alive. “What, you expected me to _ not _ cheat? Take advantage of whatever opportunities you have, I say”. So says the Queen. 

Memorials:

We were awoken by Ming before dawn. Toph slept in, as she usually, I mean always, does. I got dressed in my Imperial Daytime Autumn Robes. The yellow tints are gone. The green is slightly darker. Blue gusts of wind, the cold winter, mark the patterns. The Earth King’s hat was cleaned and I put it on. I set off at dawn for the West Gate. The roads inside the city were repaired, but empty spaces where houses once were remained. People had cleared the debris, sure, but entire city blocks were empty spaces, replaced by one story stone houses in most cases. I decided to take a tour of the city on my way there, going northwards first.

A city-block that was leveled in the bombings was now a graveyard. White flags, bearing the red earth coin, flew at the four corners of the graveyard. Colonials like burning their ancestors and putting their ashes in urns. The graveyard was full of square plates, the person’s name, birthdate -in Fire Nation style- and achievements listed on each plate. The Seven that died were given their own section zoned off in the graveyard. The whole place was surrounded by a metal fence. Their section of the graveyard has the tail of a monoplane sticking out of the ground, the green earth coin tail marking was bright as ever. Each of their graves had a set of incense sticks burning next to it. A stone wall outside the graveyard’s entrance had their seven paintings side by side, protected by glass. 

That wasn’t the only memorial. Most houses had white flags, bearing red earth coins, hanging from a balcony or flying above their roof. The phoenix prow was left where it fell, the area around it turned into a memorial to the city defenders. An Earth Kingdom flag was strung around the prow. A metal tube sat next to the deformed remains of a crashed monoplane. In a piece of flat land adjacent to the prow, a set of statues, made of metal. One of Toph holding Ozai’s head in her right hand. She’s dressed in her Imperial Robes. One of me nocking an arrow, and I must say, my eyepatch makes me look much more imposing in ten foot statue form. One of a pilot, hands on hips, wearing a headband. One of a mother, clutching a spear in her hands. One large statue, a scene: A male earthbender raising an earth pillar while a female firebender is captured in mid-air, punching a fire blast. The fire has just left her hand. Other statues were behind them, but I didn’t want to be late so I set off westwards.

Preceding the Parade:

I walked up to the Western Gatehouse, soldiers bowed as I passed. The Gatehouse was decorated in many more banners than usual. We had the Imperial Flag, both styles. Regular Earth Kingdom flags, Colonial flags, pennant variants, all lined up. 

Toph arrived with fanfare, riding down the main road on an earth wave. She was dressed in her Imperial Robes, a rare occurrence for her to do. She jumped up to the Gatehouse with an earth pillar. Our Thrones were brought out to sit atop this gatehouse. A tent, or rather a tarp attached to four pillars, shielded us from the lack of a sun. Of course, it had the Imperial Sigil on it. The cool morning breeze blew against us and we spent the better part of an hour sitting here. While we sat, Generals How, Fong and Song arrived. Each one bowed formally and bid us both well. Our positions were set. Toph on the far right, me to her left, How, Song and Fong in that order to my left. Zhi was in Wulong Forest, testing some ‘weapon’ or something. Jun was slaughtering pockets of rebels. The three of them were dressed with formal topknot caps and everything. Ornate scabbards at their sides, Song was wielding his bow, quiver with arrows and twin dao. The three also had fans tucked into their sashes. Fong and How were the same height, Song was shortened with age, about the same height as Prince Iroh. Food was brought out. The three generals never sat down, Toph tore into her steak while I picked at my...smoked fish? We finished breakfast, water was in jars around us, waiting to be poured. Toph banged her fist on the table. “When’s this damn parade going to begin?” General How bowed and apologized that “they will be ready in ten minutes”. Toph smiled, sat back down with a puff and went “okay”. She undid her tied-up bangs and began blowing them around. 

I noticed a tide of civilians standing across the road from us, looking up at us. Originally I thought it was a complicated rock formation or something, but when I raised my hand to wipe sweat off my head, the rock formation bowed. So I lowered my hand and made sure not to raise it again. Most of the crowd was waving small Earth Kingdom or Colonial -red earth coin- flags. Amidst this sea of reds and greens, some paintings of Toph and I. Ones the Court Painter drew months ago. Toph, sitting on the Badgermole Throne, hands together. Me, pointing a jian at the viewer while stepping on the distinct helmet of a Fire Nation firebender. 

A couple Earth Navy junks were located off the coast, upon query the Generals told me “oh, that’s target practice”. Their sails were gone, just masts and wood. These weren’t small fishing junks either. Each of these was the size of a three-story building, not counting the masts, and as long as one. 

Also, a series of weapons were brought up behind us. We were left alone up here, save for the three generals. I guess someone got my message about “can I get some space, please”. The nice thing about Fire Nation seats is they allow you to drape the cape behind them, as they are low seats with low backrests. On the downside, you can’t slouch back in your seat because fall over.

Horns sounded, Toph and I stood. The Parade was beginning. 

Let the Fire Nation bastards see the _full might _of the Imperial Army.

One day, we'll be returning to Caldera. And when we do, there's sure to be lots of giant fuckoff cannons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Propaganda posters are references to various recruitment ads used during both World Wars.   
I chose Corps versus Divisions or Brigades to reflect the smaller sizes of these units. The name will stick. Even when the Artillery grow to hundreds of trucks, they'll still be Her Imperial Majesty's Imperial Artillery Corps. 
> 
> Next time, a giant parade WITH EXECUTIONS AND BIG BOOMS! WOOHOO!


	41. The Parade of Nationalists and Giant Cannons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Earth Kingdom shows off how cool it is with all these new explosives. 53/10 not enough Patriotic Fervor.

HIM Entry XLI:

The Parade: 

From the right, emerging from somewhere I couldn’t see as it was blocked by warehouses, a truck with a man on top. He bowed to us, pulled a metal spike off the back of the truck and morphed it into a javelin. He fired it into a target off to our left. Wuhan. He turned to us, giving a court perfect bow despite standing atop a moving vehicle, then heel-turned and bowed to the crowd. They cheered. 

After Wuhan passed by on his personal truck, the Royal Guard marched through. Ten men wide, I never counted how long, probably a hundred in total. Perfect lockstep. They marched at the beat of a drummer standing at the front of the column, side-by-side with a cymbalist who proudly smashed his cymbal every couple seconds. And yet, it was in sync. Both weren’t actually holding the instruments, just metalbending them. This earned roaring appraise from the crowd, tossing flowers at the two. Looking closer, it was none other than Jie and Shi. Same face, different haircuts. Even despite the helmet, I’d tell Jie’s wispy mustache and Shi’s flowing locks anywhere. The column halted, marching in step, right before the duo reached the gatehouse. Everyone, save the duo, reached over their backs and drew their single dao blade. The hilts were of an ornate dark colored metal, the blades shimmered like a silent sea. They marched forwards, left hands holding the hilts, pointing the blade tips at us. 

Once it seemed like most of the column was passed, they halted, marching in place, then turned towards us. Each one jutted their dao to the air, the musicians keeping cadence. The column then spread apart into a loose formation. They got into horse stances, dao still pointing up, and with their right hands gripped the hilt with metalbending. They let go with their left hands, the crowd erupted in cheers, tossing flowers at them all. The cadence picked up, Wuhan doubled back in marching stance to the musicians, turned towards us, and yelled out “Ten Thousand Years!”. The guards and the civilians repeated the chant. The civilians quieted down after a few repetitions, the guards, meanwhile, began spinning their blades around in mid air with metalbending. It was a wave of blades twirling. While the crowd was amused looking at their backs, Wuhan gripped his blade, jutting it to the sky, and yelled out.

“The Imperial Army and the Earth Kingdom, as unwavering as steel and as enduring as stone! Let us march onwards, swords in hand, through fire and lightning, into one last deadly stand!”

I leaned over to look at Song, the old man had a wide grin and let out a slight laugh. _I guess that's the new Army anthem_. The guards repeated the chant, in sync. A hundred accents for a hundred men, merged into a symphony. High voices from the coasts took the high notes, northerners as harsh as their weather took the lowest notes. The distance between the two extremities was filled in by lowlanders, mountaineers, the heartlanders and their soft tones and everyone in between. 

One man in the crowd, a young man dressed in reds with a green undershirt, yelled out the chant, putting his left fist into the air. After he got to “Kingdom…” the rest of the crowd joined in. They repeated the chant multiple times. They weren’t synchronized. “They ain’t that bad” Fong laughed. How put his fist on the railing and repeated the chant as well. Fong and Song shot him a look and joined in. The crowd ceased, the guards ceased. The three men were given an opportunity to be a terrible choir. Didn’t matter, they were applauded. People punched the air in approval.

While the guard grabbed their daos and sheathed them, in perfect sync, How explained that “the fist represents the strength of earth” and that was why he chose it. “Well I think that’s sweet” Toph said, giddy. How’s eyes widened a bit, and he laughed. He had to remember that not much was as attractive to Her Imperial Majesty as someone explaining yet another use for a fist. The Royal Guard spread out to stand beneath the western walls, shoulder to shoulder, forming a gilded wall even if I could only look down from the ramparts and see their plumes. Horns sounded. How yelled out from next to us. 

“Announcing, Hong, leader of the Rebels and his traitorous allies. We flushed the cowards out of a tavern!” 

A open-backed truck drove forwards, Hong and five others wore metal shackles, a platoon of Royal Guards walking some distance behind the truck. How continued. “He is to be tried by Her Imperial Majesty”. The crowd began booing the six of them, Hong yelled out some curses and got some pebbles flung at him. The truck, just like the last one, had an earth coin, gold and green, on the side of the door and on the roof of the vehicle. It halted once it reached us, Royal Guards pulling the men out with metalbending and tossing them on the ground. They were dragged along as their legs and hands were bound to prevent escape. Toph grinned and put her arms on the railing to relax.

“Your Imperial Majesty, how do you try them?” Toph let out a booming laugh. “Keep them ‘till the end of demonstration. I want them to suffer!” she screamed and made my ears ring. The crowd cheered. Hong looked to the right and up at her with vitriol while the rest of his men stiffened. Horns sounded. Loud whirring off to the right. How continued his screaming, much to the amusement of Toph. 

“Presenting, Her Imperial Majesty’s Imperial Armored Corps!”

Dominion in the Field: 

A set of light, fast, tracked vehicles. Ten of them. Designed very similarly to the Tundra Tank. The top hatches were open with men dressed similarly to the pilots except wearing thick cloth helmets standing inside. In their left hands, daggers. They jutted them towards us, arms outstretched, as the tanks rolled along. The top-center of the tank had a metal tube attached to it in place of the Tundra Tank’s slits. How explained that these were “just like the metal tubes used for air defense,” as the Generals agreed that they “needed a fast moving vehicle capable of delivering town-killing power. As Toph joked then and now, “bigger is _ always _ better, that’s an Imperial Edict”. The crowd applauded these vehicles. The tanks drove past and made a left turn at the southwestern corner of the wall, parking out of sight. 

The Caterpillar Tanks were next. Slow, grindy, but “there’s a lot of them”, as Toph muttered. The dust kicked up was cleared by earthbender soldiers that lined the path. Forty of them drove past, blocking up the entire road at one point. Soldiers opened the earthen panels as they passed, allowing civilians to glance at the probably waving soldiers inside. Once the last of their slow, monolithic, hopefully decommissioned soon, selves passed, horns sounded. “Presenting Her Imperial Majesty’s Imperial Artillery Corps, the newest addition to the Imperial Army!” The crowd erupted, as Song joked, “they must all love boom-related things”. Toph cheered along with them. She definitely did.

Dominion in Sieges:

Twenty one of these trucks, the same tracked model the Mechanist first designed, green-gold earth coins painted on top, arrived. On each one’s back, a metal tube with two Royal Guardsmen. The tubes were perfectly vertical. The guards were holding on to interior railings. Next to the metal tubes, a set of artillery shells. The lead car _ honked _ like a turkey duck, the trucks halted. The crowd ceased their applause when I raised my hand. A man jumped out from the frontmost truck, as the trucks were organized into a flying wedge column, five vehicles wide. Four sets plus one at the front. 

“Her Imperial Majesty’s Artillery Corps want a demonstration, now who wants one!” the crowd cheered, lots of “woohoos” and “we do!” How bowed and pointed his fan at the officer. “Aim, one mile range!” he yelled out. One soldier turned the metal tube with metalbending, pointing it halfway between straight vertical and horizontal. “Load!” the soldiers bowed and the first soldier picked up a shell and placed it inside the tube with metalbending, holding it there. The second soldier got into a deep horse stance. “Launch!” he barked, How opened his fan, and a set of loud _ booms _ rang out. Each soldier physically punched the artillery shell, sending it flying. The crowd silenced. A side effect of this was that it caused the ground to shake. But as Toph said, “that’s awesome!” 

The shells flew over the crowd, many turned their heads in time to see the distant _ boom _ s. One junk was hit right in the center, a large explosion tore her in two. Another junk was hit in the prow, disintegrating the whole front section of the ship. A different junk was hit by two projectiles, non warheads. They ripped such large holes in the junk that it immediately listed to starboard and collapsed into the sea. Finally, a shell hit a junk in the center of three masts, blowing the mast sky-high, sending a rain of brown poles down from the sky a mile out. The crowd applauded, jumping up and down. Toph even joined them, yelling out “I didn’t see that but I _ heard _ that'.

Toph slammed her fist into the ramparts in approval. “I want a hundred more of _ those _ !” The crowd cheered “so do we!” and exploded into a sea of colors as flags were waved. The artillerymen were happy, they grabbed the railings again and drove off to the west. Flowers were thrown their way. I barely made out the sound of whirring behind me, so I raised my hand and the crowd silenced. Turning around, Fong and Song joined me, I was dumbfounded to see six biplanes. How put his fan to the sky and blew it to the left. “Presenting, Her Imperial Majesty’s Imperial Air Corps!” Fong excused himself and dived off the back of the Gatehouse, landing using earthbending, and ran off along the inside of the wall. "Where is he going-"

Dominion in the Skies:

Just as I said that, the six aircraft flew over in two sets. First, a green-and-gold aircraft, Teo’s. Followed by the Five in “bird flock” formation, according to How. The Five flew bright red biplanes. They flew out to the sea, then looped around the audience, earning cheers. The Five formed a circle with Teo in the middle, they launched fireballs upwards such that they crashed together above Teo. This circle passed low overhead a few times before Teo flew off and the Five reformed their bird flock formation. The middle aircraft pulled directly up, the left aircraft pulled up to the left, the right aircraft to the right, and on and on. They seperated like a flower in bloom, then in sync, doubled over in a loop, went upside down, punched five blasts at a distant western target, then twisted upright and flew low over the crowd. The crowd cheered, waving up to them as they passed. 

They flew off to the east as even louder whirring took over. I looked up, and my hat was _ blown _ off by the gust. The entire sky was covered in biplanes and monoplanes, flying over the city. “In the name of Toph” and I involuntarily bowed. The rest of the crowd definitely, _ definitely _ , noticed this, for they bowed as well. Toph sat in her chair, _ of course planes wouldn’t interest her _ I thought. I was wrong. “That’s pretty loud!” she tried to outscream the whirring. Ear ringing? Can't hear you over the ear rining. The lead aircraft crossed over, and I noticed they were in a formation.

Something like twenty monoplanes, flying at the same elevation, formed an outer ring of an earth coin. Eight biplanes flew inside this circle, forming a square. An earth coin. Then, the monoplanes banked to the right while the biplanes twisted left. Two rings were formed, static as an image but moving as individuals. Their markings were quite visible. These were regular colored biplanes, brown wood with just bright green earth coins for markings. How shouted something I could barely make out, something like “the Air Force...aerial combat...ball”.

The banking monoplanes became side-on with the ground. Each pilot is probably tightly pulling his monoplane up. The outside ring formation was maintained. The Five returned in their bright red biplanes. How looked up at them, smiling, and glanced at me. I was too fixated on their beauty to pay him heed. He nudged me on the shoulder, “Yes, General How?” “The red biplanes are meant to be Fire Nation”. I nodded. _ This would be fun _. 

The eight brown biplanes twisted and turned. Some dived towards the ground, pulling up at the last second, some charged up towards the full moon. Each brown biplane gave chase to a red one, and eventually a second circle was formed inside the first one. “Presenting! The circle!” How yelled out, gesturing his fan towards the second circle. Each brown biplane had a red one behind it and in front of it. As a result, three brown biplanes were constantly trying to dive in to join the circle, but due to the tight turns, it was impossible. So the other three biplanes pulled out, going vertical, and dived back towards the circle. They were trying to enter the circle from a different angle. “It does not matter if twenty aircraft are chasing you, only one can be on your tail!” How yelled out. “But these three? They come at the circle from a different angle!” The crowd nodded along, varying between watching How explain all this -without a scroll- and watching the mock fight in the sky. “So...you learned from airbenders?” Toph asked, leaning past me to nudge How. He turned, eyes blinked wide, and went “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, repeat that?” Toph jabbed him in the shoulder. “Your fancy dancers learned from airbenders.” she had her hands on her hips. “Well, that’s for the Mechanist to be asked, not me. I believe he learned from the Northern Air Temple murals, Your Majesty.” Toph went “hmph” and went back to her seat and sat down. How looked me eyes-to-eye. “Does Her Imperial Majesty want to summon The Mechanist?” and he bowed. “I think Her Imperial Majesty was _ insulting _ the Air Force. To compare you to the airbenders can’t be a good thing”. Toph let out a laugh, followed by a shoulder punch. “He’s got it”. 

How opened his mouth to begin explaining why “the Mechanist believes thinking like a airbender is a good idea” but Toph shushed him up with “it doesn’t matter. Save it for a War Meeting” and went back to sensing the ground around us. She was interrupting my viewing of the biplanes almost touching with “hey, Kyoshi, I can feel the metal tanks from here”. I nodded, said “very nice, Your Majesty” and tried to imply ‘can you please let me watch the aerial duel’ but Toph was having none of it. Toph passed me over and went “How, bring on the Imperial Army?” He let out a cough and nudged a hornman nearby. The hornman looked at him with a confused face from beneath that conical hat, he shrugged his shoulders in the direction of Toph and I could sense the hornman tense up. He bowed to How, raised his hat to bow to me, and blew into the horn. 

Dominion across the Earth:

“Presenting Her Imperial Majesty’s Imperial Army!” The crowd looked at the General Box as if they all were given an itinerary as well. I don’t know if they were or weren’t. I wasn't.

Horns sounded off to the right, the aircraft continued their dance, and a man riding an armored Ostrich Horse arrived. It was General Fong. He punched the air, earning the crowd’s cheers. “Presenting, the Vanquisher of the Protectorate Rebellion, the People’s General, the Commoner General, now General of the South, Fong!” The crowd cheered.

Behind him, a twelve men wide, spirits knows how long, column of men marching. They were of various heights. They were separated into two lines. Every other twelve man wide line was either a pike line or people wielding no weapons, earthbenders. The benders were barefoot. From up here, the conical hats were like green lily pads floating in a sandy pond. Fong strolled down, raising his hand to the civilians, receiving even more tossed flowers. He caught one, causing a girl in the middle of the crowd, old enough to _probably-cutting-university_, to jump up and down in happiness. His column was so long there were men still appearing from behind the warehouses even as he rode towards the gatehouse. The aircraft dance had ended, biplanes and monoplanes tipped their wings and flew off towards the east. 

His column marched in lockstep behind him. Not long after passing us, he raised his fist. The column halted and marched in step. He drew his dao, jutting it at me. “Form pikewall!” The pikes in the front of the column lowered, the men grabbed their pikes with both hands. The set of benders behind them walked up to the front line and formed an earth wall. Flat as the ground they walked on, straight as an arrow. Small gaps were left between each wall where the pikes jutted out. Otherwise, “the benders create a stone shield wall, the non benders jut their pikes forward.” Each set of two lines formed up and did this. This extended to the warehouses, where the remaining men backed up. Fong raised his fist again. “Form lion turtle formation!” The pikemen raised their pikes, the earthbenders stomped their walls down and all retreated inwards. Two lines of benders formed a circular earthwall, wrapping from one edge of the road to the other. The two pike lines jutted their pikes through the gaps in the walls. The earthbenders were clearly _ holding _ their earthwalls. According to How’s commentary, they “did this in various skirmishes with the Protectorate and it was extremely successful against nonbender forces.” The whole time, Toph was glued to these formations, yelling “that’s awesome!” 

Fong raised his fist, the walls came down and the soldiers reformed into a column. He clenched his fist, they marched in step. He punched forwards and marched off to the left. The long column continued marching for many minutes, until finally the end of it passed. Civilians cheered the whole time. How smiled, banged the ramparts, and gave one final yell. “Presenting, Her Imperial Majesty’s Colonial Corps!” The crowd practically exploded in happiness.

A column of twelve by twelve marched forwards. Soldiers were dressed in all kinds of clothes. Women and men of all ages. They weren’t armored, nor did they wear helmets. Some of them carried crossbows, side-quivers and dao scabbards. The civilians howled and applauded, calling out individuals’ names. How snapped open his fan, they halted. 

“Wall Pillar Fire Formation!” 

The earthbenders, barefoot, ran forwards, some even _ sliding _ , into creating a large circular earth wall. Not only was it circular, it was _ moving forwards _. The firebenders, agile as ever, jumped up on quickly made earth pillars and punched fire blasts right over the heads of the civilians. 

“Earthen Fire Formation, offensive!” and he snapped his fan to the left then towards himself. The earthbenders, with smashes of their fists, broke the earth circle into individual earth chunks. Other earthbenders ran forwards, pulling a small earth disk out of the ground with one hand and pressing the earth wall aside, just slightly, with the other. They slung these earth discs around, like a boomerang’s arc, before they made impact with the road off to the far left of us. A few acrobatic earthbenders kicked themselves up with pillars before launching a blast of two earth discs at the walls themselves. The crowd cheered. Toph pulled on one of her bangs, wrapping it around her finger. “General How!” she called. He turned to her, trying to maintain focus between his fan and Toph and _knew_ if he didn't focus on Toph he'd be next after Hong in executions. “Yes, Your Majesty?” She spoke while playing with her bang. “I love your fast earthbenders ” and he smiled. “Thank you, Your Majesty”. She turned and put her left hand to the ground to feel them even better.

Dominion on the Seas:

He snapped his fan shut. The columns reformed. The crowd ceased applauded. Off the coast, ship horns sounded. “Presenting, Her Imperial Majesty’s Imperial Colonial Navy!” The crowd twisted around and watched five Fire Navy cruisers come into view from the north. The boats sailed past the spot where the junks sank. On each was a large metal tube, the size of a trebuchet, where the trebuchet is supposed to be. Horns blared. 

“They will now give a demonstration of their naval artillery power by laying siege to the mountain range to our south!” Toph screamed out “Sweet!” and punched the air. I _thought_ my ears were ringing. “Giant fuckoff cannons here we go!” Now my ears were ringing.

A messenger hawk was launched from beneath us and became a small red-and-black dot as it flew out to the ships.

The crowd was silent. A seagull cried out. “General How, why are those trebuchets so big and how are they even operated?” A couple members of the crowd heard me and turned around to watch our conversation. “Four Metalbenders punch the shell at the same time”. “Woah” Toph murmured. The tubes were pointed _ towards us _ . "They're pointing at us!" I yelled, grabbing a stone pillar like that was going to save me. "Oh, you lily-liver!" and Toph politely grabbed me and with only a few earth pillar nudges and tossed me into the railing. Concluding that death was probably not imminent, I stayed there.

A ship horn. _ Bang! _

Five black dots launched, the kickback from the launch caused the ships themselves to rock. _ Boooooom _ . _ Boomboom _ . _ Crash _ . A shockwave sent the flags and my cape to the right in a sudden gust. A mountain on the Southern Range was covered in a cloud of smoke. The crowd gasped. Toph punched the ground. “Kyoshi.” she whispered. “Yes Your Majesty?” Toph staggered “that was _ big _. That was really big.” She screamed “That was big!” and jumped up, hooting. 

The entire north and western face of the mountain was gone. One man yelled out “Take that, Azula!” and the crowd repeated it. The ground rumbled as the mountain peak fell into itself, causing a large landslide to envelop most of the crater. 

_ The mountain was gone _. 

I called out, smiling. “So, Yu Dao. What do we say to the Imperial Navy!” the crowd turned and applauded them, jumping up and down and waving flags. _I guess we say nothing at all_. Toph pushed me back and walked face-to-chest with How. “I want a hundred”. How let out a _ that’s-not-possible _ chuckle. “I know you can do it. Do it!” and she quaked the gatehouse. He fell over, stopping himself at the last second. “Right away, Your Majesty!” he picked up his fallen hat and held it. 

The Imperial Execution:

“Now, civilians, the moment you’ve been waiting for. The execution of Hong!” The crowd erupted in cheers, waving their hands back and forth. “Go get ‘em, Your Majesty” Song bumped me on the shoulder. “Got it.” He built an earth staircase down for me, a soldier behind us handed me a crossbow and quiver. 

I got downstairs, the entire crowd and the Royal Guards bowed. I turned to the crowd, opening my arms wide, holding my crossbow in my right hand. “So, guys! Who wants me to put a bolt through him?” some members of the crowd cheered. I strung put the crossbow on my back. “Who wants me to slice his head off?” many more members of the crowd cheered. “And who wants Her Imperial Majesty to put a metal spike through him?” the crowd erupted in applause. “Well, I’m doing it the old fashioned way” and I grabbed my crossbow. 

I walked down the road, towards the warehouses. A few hundred feet away. All eyes watched me. “If I pin him in the eye, I’m buying you drinks!” the crowd chanted “pin the fly! Pin the fly!” I drew a bolt, _ wow they are tiny _, from my side-quiver. Two Royal Guards brought him to the center of the road. “Guards, let’s make this interesting. Unshackle him!” The crowd gasped. “Hong, as a thank you for your kindness, I’m going to give you an honorable duel!” Hong spat on the ground. I drew the string back with two rotating handles. I put my bolt in the firing shaft. I looked down the sights. “Release him!” I yelled. The two Royal Guards pulled his shackles off and backed off, getting into stance. 

He clenched his left fist. _ Swoosh. _ A distant bison roar. _Oh good, the peace corps has arrived_. He sent an earth pillar bashing my left shin, but it was too late. _ Thunk _ . The bolt went into his chest. He clutched the wound and collapsed over, falling in on himself. I fell to the side, unable to halt my fall. The crowd broke into cheers. A Royal Guard poked his body with a dao blade, _ dead _. Another couple guards picked me up. “Ow” I muttered. I leaned over to pick up my crossbow and I fell over, again. 

Normally, I don’t get hurt badly, but I have to admit, that hurt. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, the Imperial Technological Exposition! Sokka gets oogies and we meet a certain young inventor. 
> 
> So in my head I wrote this like (I'm using reddit links because everything else is either a video or pintrest and I don't have pintrest) https://www.reddit.com/r/PropagandaPosters/comments/1g6zvv/triumph_of_the_victorious_motherland_by_mykhailo/
> 
> Each 'Dominion' chapter title doubles as a mighty fine propaganda/recruitment poster title. 'Dominion' is a play on definition/reference to Queen Victoria's Dominions -territorial possessions- across the world. This time, the dominion doesn't refer to a person but to a military branch. The second half of the naming references the historical use of global powers to assert their dominance over the entire world. That is, their military is unopposed in strength. As such, the chapter title is a combination of the two. 
> 
> The new Tundra Tanks are Tundra Tanks with cannons -'metal tubes'- attached to the center where the firebenders would once fire out of.


	42. The Imperial Technological Exposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara gets down and dirty with a bloody leg and Toph gets down and dirty with a engine block.

HIM Entry XLII:

Advice for future rulers, always kill the guy before showing off and always bring a bottle of whiskey in case you fail the first objective. 

Katara,  _ Master _ Healer:

The crowd gasped, people tried to run over to grab me, I’d assume, but two Royal Guards picked me up while the rest of them held the mob back. “Your Majesty, can you walk?” one asked. “Well if the answer was yes, I'd be off, wouldn’t I?” No laughs, must've been a tough crowd. So they picked me up and carried me. Toph yelled out “did that guy break Kyoshi’s leg or something?” The crowd answered that for her. She stomped the ground, sending Hong into some bottomless pit or something, his screams slowly fading from memory just like the last of my intelligence. 

“Oh, you other five are  _ really _ in for it”. The five other men looked up, partway between begging mercy and muttering prayers. She dived down, creating a shockwave that sent them flying into the wall. While the two Royal Guards carried me, I watched her pull all five close in to her with one hand gesture. She stomped the ground while her hands held their shackles in place. Her earth pillar was so powerful it  _ ripped their hands out of their sockets.  _ Five pairs of hands -with attached bone- fell to the ground while the five men flew upwards. In the same second, with her other hand, she palm-struck the air, clenched her fist, and grabbed the five together. Together, they let out ear piercing screams. “You broke his leg, I’m breaking yours!” With the hand that held the shackles, she did some quick gestures with her hands, turning the five small shackles into a large, thin, blade. The five of them were still screaming. The crowd was cheering. She pulled the five back to the ground with a smash. Her shackle-blade hand raised, the metal blade rising with her, then with a palm strike to the ground, their legs beneath the knees were chopped off. The crowd cheered. “Go get ‘em Your Majesty!” “Long Live Her Imperial Majesty!” among other things. The five of them were left to roll around in their own blood. They screamed and screamed. She had this look that she  _ heard something _ , so stomped the ground, opening a hole that the five fell into. She stomped the ground again, closing the hole up. The bison roared, flying over from the south. _Oh yeah, the pacifist might not like killing tyrants_. The crowd looked up at it as the airbender kick flipped off, landing with some airbending beneath the gatehouse. The Royal Guards were still walking along carrying me as the bison crashed down  _ right behind me _ . I told them that my leg didn’t hurt that bad, and the Guards let me walk on my own, practically walking over me in a effort to stay within _if-he-falls-grab-him _range.  


“Do we bow for the Avatar, Your Majesty?” a man in the crowd yelled out. Toph strolled towards me. I yelled out “yes, why not!” The crowd lowered into kneels, hands up in a bowing stance. The Avatar propelled himself across the track  _ to me _ with a airbending spout. “Afternoon Your Earthliness.” he said, bowing with one hand at his chest, as usual. “Good...afternoon...Avatar...Aang. Would…you...please...give...me...space?” I said, smiling, while also trying to  _ not appear like I’m about to burst into tears or something _ . “You look hurt, shall I get Katara?” he asked, gesturing Katara to run over. Toph arrived at the same time as Katara, which was great for all parties involved. Badgermoles versus...Polar Bear Dogs? So of course her waterskin is uncorked and she’s like “what’s the issue?” and I’m like “what do...you think,  _ Master _ ?” She gave me this  _ hey-I-can-just-not-heal-you _ look, and pulled out some water. Toph, meanwhile, punched me in the shoulder. “Well he’s alive, he’ll be fine.”  _ Thanks Toph, love you too _ . Katara looked at her and went “do you not see the problem-” but Toph cut her off and waved her hand in front of her eyes, laughing. I walked up some stairs, hobbling, and managed to get to the General Box where I sat down on a chair and reclined. 

So Katara got to work healing me from the General Box. She whispered instructions to Toph. As a result, Toph, ‘for protection,’ shackled my arms and leg to this stone chair while my left leg sat on a raised platform, also shackled. Now, if this sounds like the set up for some Dai Li torture, that's because it might as well have been. She pulled off her own Robes, her wrestler outfit underneath. She left the clothes on the ground citing the tried and true logic of “if we gotta get bloody might as well get bloody in the clothes I like”. How, meanwhile, had a biplane land on the runway, a Colonial using her hands as torches, or so I heard. “This might hurt a little” Katara gently told me in her softest voice, petting my tousled queue and smiling at me like I’m some child while she forced a soon-to-be amputee gag into my mouth. I was too clueless to realize the connection. I felt Toph’s hands gripping my left leg while Katara muttered something. 

So my vision went white.  I bit the thing in half while screaming to the sky. I couldn’t look at whatever she was doing, but I heard Toph yell “you said protection, what in the name of me are you doing to the guy?” and tighten her grip on my leg. Katara yelled “I need focus!” and I _tried_ to mutter something incomprehensible but it was incomprehensible. Also, as I later found out, Toph's truth sense overwrites all. Katara _was _speaking the truth, but that begs the question of what counts as a truth and false. If Katara were to kill me, but said "I need focus", she'd still be saying the truth. Wait where was I? Oh yeah, mentally screaming to the spirits "is this punishment?" followed by my conscious going "no, moron". Oh and also I would've been shaking except Toph's perfected the art of shackling.   


General How asked if we should continue the Exposition, I nodded my head while biting down on the rag. He bowed, turned and continued. Credit where its due, he could have seen my leg get chopped off and he'd still be following his orders.   


All things considered, Katara only took a minute or so. But that minute took a year. I will  _ definitely _ have nightmares of that in the future. Almost as fast as the pain began, it ended. At least when I lost my eye, I was so drunk I barely noticed it. But here? Nope. I finally decided to open my eyes and watched Katara dipping her blood soaked hands in a jar, wiping them off on a different rag, then patted me on the shoulder while smiling. “You did better than most, Your Earthliness”. _Oh, do tell me what happened to the 'most'_. She removed my gag and dropped it in the dirty jar. She tapped Toph who unshackled me. All things considered, I felt as new as dawn or that feeling of bliss right after taking a shower and before Her Imperial Majesty coats me in dust. “How did you...how are you able to cause so much pain while also ending it just as quickly?” I asked, dumbfounded that magical powers like that even existed. Granted, she also saved my life in the past so maybe the blood loss was making me crazy. She laughed. “I had to tear your leg muscles apart to remove a large fragment of stone embedded in your leg. I simply rebound the muscles after removing the leg” My eyes went wide as discs and I gave her a slight bow. Toph’s hands were covered in blood, too. But as I've learned, its only weird for Toph when her hands are _clean_. Katara wiped Toph’s hands for her with a rag -genuinely surprised she didn't punch Katara in the face for that- tossing it into the dirty jar. “Thanks. Remind me never to lay siege to waterbenders” and Toph and I laughed. Katara joined in. “You’re leg won’t bleed, I closed up the skin. However, I wouldn’t recommend putting armor on it.” I got up, turned to her and bowed. She smiled, nodding back to me. 

The Imperial Technological Exposition:

I walked over to the railing and looked down, waving to the crowd. People looked up and waved to me. A biplane was parked in the middle of the strip. An artillery truck was located next to it, hopefully warhead-less shells inside. A regular truck design sat next to it. Both tank types further down, along with the original humongous Caterpillar Tank design. A small area in the ground was filled with earth discs. Archery stands were located further to the right. Next to all the vehicles, soldiers, tankists, pilots. One of the Fire Navy Cruisers was coming towards the docks while the rest parked offshore as if at attention.  


I walked down the staircase. Civilians were parting way for me, but I called out “its fine, I’m here to see new stuff just like you!” earning cheers from passersby. Toph caught up to me, surely she dived off the Gatehouse and landed with an earth slide of some sort. She grabbed my hand, saying “I want to see the giant fuckoff cannons first!” and dragging me towards the artillery truck.  _ Aww, I wanted to see the ship _ .

Upon reaching the truck, the four guys standing next to it snapped around, bowing to us. “Your Imperial Majesty” one began. Toph raised her shushing finger, no not the toe-picking finger completely different pointer finger. “Cut the formalities” and she walked over to the truck to feel it. Meanwhile, I stood to the side, attracting the attention and admiration of many civilians, stating I simply “wanted to listen to them speak”, which made the four guys happy. They explained how the vehicle drives, in layman’s words which a country fisher's son like me might understand. It has tracks, obviously. It’s mostly metal. The shells are kept using a device that separates a box into individual ones so a shell doesn’t just topple over and explode. A shell could easily topple over and explode. Passenger safety was not in mind and these things are "a coffin for four brothers" but as this is the Earth Kingdom not the Fire Nation, safety rulings don't exist. 

A side tangent on safety rulings. As of Fire Lord Azulon's ascension, he ordered that all Fire Navy ships have various safety features put on. Admirals, Commanders, Captains and so on would be stripped of rank if their ships didn't maintain yearly safety inspections. Multiple people named Kuzon lost their positions due to refusing to comply with Azulon's orders. Azulon personally kicked the last of the Kuzon Admirals off a bridge to demonstrate _why_ the ships needed railings and proper ladders. Trebuchets have small safety triggers that must be manually flipped to prevent accidental death by falling trebuchet projectile. Most interior hallways have padded doorways so soldiers don't break their heads every time a wave crashed over. The giant icebreakers on the front of each ship now require more than one person to open them so the bow of the ship doesn't just accidentally open while at sea and flood, anymore. Likewise, every ship has lifeboats built in. To the free world, Fire Lord Azulon may have been a tyrannical figure who caused the deaths of thousands, but considering one of his sons turned out quite well and considering all the regulations put in play, I'd say he wasn't as bad as, lets say, that guy that died from cactus juice immolation.

While they gave an overview of the engine, Toph began  _ moaning _ . The soldiers had to stifle their laughter, correctly realizing laughing at Her Imperial Majesty  _ is  _ punishable by death. “Your Majesty, is Her Imperial Majesty okay, she sounds like she’s-” I held up my hand. “She _loves_ whatever metal components are inside” and I shouted “right Your Majesty?” Toph stuck her thumbs up and continued to hug the engine. She whimpered, going “it has so many tiny parts that you could never see. It’s so complicated. I feel each individual one! I love it!” The soldiers let out chuckles, remembered that they _will _die, and bowed to her. One guy spoke up. “We’re quite happy that Your Majesty loves it”. She walked off to go “find other engines to hug.” I stuck around to listen. 

They explained that all four are trained to do each other's jobs in the event of casualties -the Earth Kingdom has endless men after all- or sudden reassignment between units. There’s a driver, a spotter, a loader and a bombardier. The driver’s job is obvious. The spotter tells the loader and bombardier team where to aim and distance. Currently, the artillery sights are rudimentary, relying on the spotter to pick a target and figure out the rough distance. The loader aims the artillery piece and puts the shell in. The bombardier, meanwhile, is responsible for giving the shell a good, hard, rooted, punch. The bombardier here gave a demonstration of a punch. He gets into a horse stance, rooting himself by literally sinking into the metal, then releases a punch upwards at the imagine artillery piece. The artillery piece, meanwhile, is currently just a tube. 

The crowd applauded them, including myself. It sounded fascinating. They opened the floor for questions. They received lots of idiotic questions, but a few are noteworthy as they were the purpose of this event. 

The Mechanist’s Apprentice and The Seductionbender :

A guy introduced himself as a nonbender “who loves mechanics and would love to operate one of these”. The soldiers didn’t laugh. “What do you propose?” they asked. “So you have to load the shell, right?” the loader nodded, picking up a dud shell and letting him see it. He looked at the bottom and felt around. “Why not build a mechanism that grips the shell’s bottom...” and he grabbed the bottom of the shell, pinching it from both sides, “...the loader could simply load the shell into the device and the device would hold the shell so the bender doesn’t have to waste energy holding the shell in place.” I jumped up, yelling “guards!” the young man, my age, looked at me shocked. The crowd backed away from him, as if by involuntary response. Two Royal Guards ran over. “What do you wish of us, Your Majesty?” I pointed at the young man. “I want this man to meet with the Mechanist”. I turned to the man. “You, remember that idea and tell it to this bubbly bearded fellow called the Mechanist. He’s hard to miss.” The guards bowed and walked over to the young man. “Guards, don’t  _ take _ him, go find the Mechanist and summon him!” The guards bowed and one man ran off into the crowd. The crowd around the man grabbed him and cheered him. 

A few minutes later, the Mechanist arrived by Ostrich Horse, two guards flanking him. He dismounted and happily shook the hand of the young man in question when I pointed to him. An idea also hit me while the two were shaking hands. “Guards!” I yelled. A Royal Guard ran over, putting his fist to the ground when he bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty?” The crowd looked and watched the guard and I speak. “Find me the Avatar’s companion, Sokka. He’s either next to the Avatar or having sex with my cousin in the Gatehouse” The crowd, soldiers and the young man burst into laughter. The guard bowed as formally as he could while not losing every ounce of dignity to the mental image, got up and ran off. I watched him run through the crowd towards the Gatehouse and vanish. The Mechanist continued speaking to this young man. “Your idea is genius, my young man!” and he shook his hand vigorously while smiling. “I’m going to get every single design to incorporate this!” I stopped paying attention to the duo, however, as two Dai Li agents ran  _ along the walls _ . The crowd, too, turned and watched these two experts of stealth running along the walls in the middle of a clear mild afternoon. The creepiness is maintained. 

They kicked a wall open and one very distinct young man let out a loud scream. The entire crowd quieted down. The two Dai Li agents jumped into the dark space, scaring the young man. I couldn’t hear whatever the Dai Li said over the crowd murmuring, but Sokka’s distinct Water Tribe voice cried out “I’m not wearing pants, though!” Everyone, from soldiers to civilians, broke into laughter. A minute later, the two emerged with a shirtless Sokka, covered in red makeup kisses. The two jumped down to the ground and carried the young man over to us. Suki emerged from the dark space,  _ his shirt _ was wrapped around her lower abdomen as she wasn’t wearing her leggings despite still wearing her upper body armor. She ducked back into the dark space. The crowd went silent. Katara screamed out from the top of the Gatehouse, “that’s disgusting, Sokka!” while he was brought up to me. The crowd broke into laughter.

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty. Is there a reason you interrupted me from personal business?” He said, clearly disappointed in life. “I need you to do some inventing, Meat and Sarcasm Guy. This young man over here wants to design a loading mechanism for artillery, tanks and ship pieces. He thinks it will streamline the firing process…” I paused, he kept nodding. “You weren’t listening to me one bit were you?” He  _ drooled _ . “I can’t wait to streamline Suki’s mechanisms-” “hmph” and a very loud, annoyed Waterbending girl made herself known from behind him with a water whip to the back of his head. “Ow!” he rubbed the back of his head, “Thank’s Sukes, I can’t wait for you to streamline my-” but he cut himself off as he turned around and came face to face with his sister, hands-on-hips. “So when I kiss Aang, that’s ‘oogies’” Aang, as if uttering his name is a bison whistle, arrived via airscooter, landing next to Katara. “Oh hi Aang!" she said, cheerful, before resuming her _I'm-serious _tone "...but you’re allowed to make out with the Earth Queen’s bodyguard while she’s on duty?” Sokka resorted to Sokka Logic: a) Actions made when one thinks like Sokka; example “Maybe Azula has a more important target to attack”, b) Actions made by Sokka when he is meticulous, c) Actions made by Sokka when he’s exhausted or d) Actions made by Sokka when he's trying to escape a dilemma by pissing off everyone around him because he winged it. “I’m older than you, sis. Oogies are when-” and she water whipped him in the chest. “Ow!” he staggered backwards and tripped over himself. 

Toph returned from “engine listening” to make this situation even worse. “Oh hi Boomerang Guy, I hear your heartbeat. It’s really fast. Got a girl you like around?” Sokka chuckled and she blushed and made it very clear to the lot of us that she was blushing. “There’s only two girls here, Boomerang. Your sister and me. I’m still up for bastardmaking with your intense-” I lowered my hand to cover her mouth. She kept blushing, though. _You know, I'd put up with a lot of Katara surgery if I didn't have to stand next to a girl who'd set off a world war with the wrong thing at the wrong time_. Katara  _ would _ be angry at us but she was still really ticked off that her brother wasn’t wearing a shirt and was covered in kisses. I knew exactly how to resolve this situation without at least one couple making out. “Shhhhhh." I removed my hand of concealment. "Her Imperial Majesty is tiiiired. Guards, please escort Her Imperial Majesty back to the nearest piece of empty ground”. Two guards showed up, bowed, and followed my instructions for once. At the same time. “I’m going to find Suki and apologize to her for your rude, inappropriate behavior. How dare you possibly offend the Earth King by sleeping with his cousin and his bodyguard? And get yourself a shirt young man!” and Katara stormed off towards the hole in the wall. Sokka muttered a “yes ma’am” and stood there. _Earth King? What next, Earth Emperor?_  


The young man who was speaking to the Mechanist walked over. “Greeting Your Imperial Majesty. It's awesome to finally meet you!” and he offered to shake her hand. She accepted. “Thanks to your rail lines, I could get out here to see the parade!” She smiled. “You invented metalbending. That’s beyond awesome!” he was acting like that one guy back home who foamed at the mouth. I let out a chuckle. Toph turned to me. I raised my hands in a  _ what? _ pose. “Your Majesty, I think you’ve got a fanboy.” The young man laughed and quickly realized I was dead serious. Toph almost broke character from her normal tomboyish self and was  _ comfortable _ with this guy. “I liiiike him.” she whined. He laughed. “Well, I’m a mechanic in my free time. I got hired by a factory in Ba Sing Se to build trucks. Thanks for giving me a job and keeping me off the street, Your Majesty.” and he bowed formally. Toph laughed. “I know what it's like to not have a home. Sucks.” but she avoided going further and I shot him a  _ if-you-ask-her-more-I-will-fill-you-will-crossbow-bolts _ . “Now I really like him. Whaddya say,  _ Kyoshi?  _ Let’s take him onboard as our personal aide?” I stopped laughing. “But...we don’t know the guy.” Toph ignored my plea. “Mechanist!” she shouted. He hobbled over. “Yes, Your Majesty?” “Do you approve of this guy as being our personal research and development aide?” The Mechanist put his arm around the man’s shoulder. “Can’t say I don’t!” I leaned in to whisper to Toph “I’m guessing you heard his conversation with the Mechanist?” she nodded.  _ That makes much more sense _ . I had him bow and proclaimed him the Queen’s Personal Research Aide. “What’s your name?” Toph asked. The man laughed. 

“I’m Satoru.” 

_I'm glad to know_ _that__, I hope you're good with a weapon because Team Beifong, name pending, love our arrogant dueling, whiskey fueled partying and world leader offending. _


	43. Returning Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Go home with the Imperial Consort! Features Tophnanagins between the Consort, Toph and newcomer Satoru!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Satoru's the guy from The Rift. In this timeline, he got a job in mechanics in one of the many War Factories, but retains his bright technical mind. Unlike the Consort, who only ever has whiskey or history on his mind.

HIM Entry XLIII:

Let’s go home. 

A Research and Development session in the Imperial Colonial Bedroom: 

The rest of the Exposition went as follows: This Satoru lad fawned over Toph and all her accomplishments while we had a three person lunch in the General’s Box, driving her to blush  _ but she made sure to hide this from everyone except me _ . Sokka recovered his shirt with some motivational Dai Li stonefisting and no not the Toph kind. Satoru stopped his fawning when the Mechanist arrived, this three person lunch became a five person one. In return for “leaving her alone to eat”, the Mechanist was allowed to write down drawings and schematics on my Colonial Study. The three of them babbled incoherent nonsense that probably translates into, as Toph put it, “giant cannon technology”. Granted, I heard them mention “loading mechanisms” and “better fuel efficiency” and “put a cannon on a boat”, but most of the time I couldn’t hear anything over Toph’s loud chewing. ‘Your Majesty can you please stop chewing’ was not something I was in any capacity to ask or _I'd_ be the one getting stone fisted_._ At some point, the five person luncheon and meeting became a seven person luncheon, meeting and social event. Aang and Katara arrived to “poke around our work” as Sokka tried to say but Katara grabbed his ear, making him yelp, and stated that “the Avatar deserves to be a part of all of this”, eyeing Toph, who paid her  _ absolutely _ no attention. So she eyed me instead, my left leg still uncovered, and I shrugged. This made her fume and stomp around. “Well, Your Earthliness, can we stick around?” Aang asked in his politest puppy-eyed voice. “I mean, industrialization isn’t your thing is it? Go right ahead.” I didn't want to mess with the girl who ripped my leg open a few hours prior.   


Toph and I departed our own room, leaving a bunch of people who aren’t us to use our room as a drawing board for ideas that we didn’t come up with because one of us is blind and the other one thinks "giant cannon" is a euphemism. Wuhan and Shi were happy to see us, bowing. We announced our intentions, well actually Toph yelled “let's take the monorail” and suddenly it was bureaucratic chaos. As if these people appeared for the sole purpose to bother us, various Ministers who, last time I checked, were supposed to be in Ba Sing Se, arrived to go “well who will run Yu Dao while you’re gone?” Toph pressed them aside, going “I’m still the Queen, right? So me”. I don’t think that’s the answer they wanted to hear but Toph didn’t care. Toph and I spoke while we changed. She wanted to go on the monorail  _ now _ , I wanted to stick around and see the Research Department’s schematics. She smirked, saying “fine”. I got changed into my Imperial Autumn Robes, Toph stayed in her wrestler outfit. She did her hair up as she likes, Ming did my hair into a queue,  _ thanks Ming _ , and with the Three at her back, Toph set off for the monorail station, eastern Yu Dao. It wasn’t going to be hard to catch up to her, afterall. Her departure was marked with fanfare and looking outside, droves of civilians showed up to bow to her as she passed. 

Meanwhile, I strolled back to the Imperial Colonial Bedroom. Aang and Katara were watching the three guys, each pointing somewhere else on a schematic. I stomped in, everyone turned to me, Satoru bowed all Fire Nation-y and went “an honor to be in Your Majesty’s presence again. Might I say, your hair goes quite well in a queue”. Sokka pointed at him, laughing about something, but got slapped by Katara, who gave me a polite wave with her slapping hand. “I’m just here to see what you’re all up to” and I walked over to my study. 

On it, some roughly drawn figure of an artillery piece. I didn’t understand all the numbers accompanying it, nor the arrows that guided those numbers to spots. From what I derive with my ears, the design called for a small mechanism that would grab and hold the shell. It was attached to the artillery tube and would rotate in, securing the shell. A metalbender wouldn’t need to focus energy on maintaining the shell in place. Instead, he could assist with firing it. This was next to a drawing of a stone artillery projectile. I asked what this was, the Mechanist explained that “while today was a performance, most artillery projectiles will be made of stone. Metal projectiles aren’t as common as stone, and any earthbender could launch a stone”. I sat there for another couple minutes, listening to the three discuss. All tanks going forward will have metal tubes to fire out of. Instead of metal, however, they will carry fortified stone artillery projectiles. A couple metal projectiles will be brought along, these were “the tankbusters” and “the fortbreakers”. I asked about the Air Corps, citing “currently there’s no real offensive potential” the Air Corps possess. “During the Comet, we could launch fire projectiles, but we had no counter to the massive zeppelins. We relied on the anti-air.” The Mechanist tapped his chin and said “I’ll go try test runs of a biplane-mounted explosive.” My following question would’ve been on having larger artillery pieces, though I saw a design underneath the rest that featured an artillery piece so large it used a house for scale, but we were interrupted by that one part of the wall that Toph always kicks out getting broken into pieces. The noise must've set off a memory of all the explosions from the Comet, because I yelled “Not again", drew my blade and "The sons of Agni won't get me this time!" and I ran forward. Four Dai Li agents jumped in, knelt to me then grabbed me, causing the rest of the room to go into shock. The other two walked over to Satoru. “Her Imperial Majesty has ordered you be brought along on an Imperial Expedition. We can do this the easy way or the hard way” and one of them clenched his fist. Satoru looked quite scared, and quivered as he went “the easy way?”. The Dai Li agents responded, now  _ slightly _ less serious, “we’ll carry you”. “Oh, alright then” he turned to the rest of the room and waved. “Stay in touch, General of the Flying Fleet, Sokka” and the two agents grabbed him and we set off. Sokka laughed, yelling “that’s karma for you” while sticking his fist at me. I was out the window when a loud  _ slap _ was  _ karmically _ delivered to him. 

The Coastal Monorail:

Part of the Colonial Pacification Campaign of Freedom and Liberation, sorry, I can't write that name without breaking into laughter. Part of the Colonial Campaign called upon General Fong to expand the Monorail line going south. While the Armored Corps steamrolled through the front gates of this town or that fort, teams of earthbenders, only a few miles behind, were punching the ground until it turned into a track. As every single bender doubles as an engineer, there was never a need for engineering corps. Earthbending powered trains are great as they require no parts. Maintenance is as easy as punching the damaged track. They’d create the track while a couple soldiers, another mile back, would slowly run a stone block the size of a carriage down the line. If the track was disformed in any way, these soldiers would pave it over with the stone. 

The Dai Li carried us right into her Imperial Carriage and deposited us there.  _ Ow _ . Satoru pushed himself up first. “Good evening Your Majesty” and he bowed. I got up afterwards. “What was that for, Toph?” She snickered. “I felt like having you come along” then she pointed at Satoru “and I want an idea guy to travel with us and think of ideas after seeing things” he bowed. “I’m humbled by the offer, Your Majesty! I will gladly provide any visual assistance I can, and I’m honored to help Your Majesty come up with new technology-” but my laughter stopped him short. He turned around and bowed to me. “Something funny, Your Majesty?” Toph smashed the floor, “let’s go!” and a horn blasted. Satoru sat down across the aisle from me and looked at me with this innocent expression. “Satomi, or whatever your name is, pardon me, you’re in for a fun time.” He smiled. “I’m honored-” but was cut off by the carriage  _ firing off _ , sticking us to our seats.  


Some time later, I went off to get changed into my underclothes, the Imperial Informal Robes, also known as “Kyoshi Islander garb”. Capes and chaofus can get quite stuffy. I took off my scabbard and carried it instead. I returned to Toph's seat and she punched me in the shoulder. “Nice kill, earlier, by the way.” Satoru walked over to us. “So Your Majesty, it's late. How do you sleep on this?” Toph smiled and hammerfisted me in the chest.  _ Ow _ . Satoru winced. I swapped to the seats opposite us, and laid down on the hard stone, feet jutting into the aisle. Toph flexed her hands, got down on the floor, lied down on it and placed her feet onto my chest with a smash. “That's how” I cried after getting struck in the chest. Toph turned her head to the right, gripped air and pulled the metal spittoon over with metalbending, spat in it, and shoved it back across the aisle. “Idea Guy, if you’d like, go draw stuff up. This carriage has a bunch of rooms with books and other boring stuff in them. Otherwise, you’re free to use the guest bed”. Satoru bowed. “I’m honored to be on Your Majesty’s personal carriage”, got up and walked down the aisle. A few minutes later, a loud smash broke one of the windows behind us. I shoved myself forwards, getting up in an instant, and instinctively drew my blade. It was a figure dressed in black, wielding twin hammers. Yes, hammers. Blacksmith hammers. He or she charged forwards, but before I could get my slice in, said person was crushed by an earth pillar coming down from the ceiling. I yelled for the Guards, who arrived with Satoru. He screamed “what happened?” and Toph laughed from behind us. I gestured to her. “Someone, an assassin, jumped in the window, so I crunched him” and she repeated the word “crunch” a few times. I sheathed my blade, “have a good night Satoru” and the half-scared half-amazed man turned around and walked back towards the library and study. I placed my scabbard on the floor and lied down on the stone seat.  _ Ow, _ she slammed her foot onto my chest. “Okay  _ Kyoshi,  _ have a wonderful night” and slammed her foot one more time onto my chest. “You too”. And we fell asleep.

A half a day later, I rolled out of bed and came face-to-feet with Toph. “Good morning, Kyoshi!” she said, grabbing the back of my robe and pulling me up. “Morning Toph, why’d you wake me?” I mumbled. “Idea Guy has ideas, go see them!” she  _ screamed _ with her outside voice inside a train and right next to my ear. I jumped up in surprise, turned around and ran off for the bookroom. I yelled “Guards!” and Wuhan appeared. “I hope you had a great sleep, Your Majesty! What do you wish of me?” “Where’s the bookroom?” I asked, tired. He turned and pointed to one of  _ four _ different rooms. “Right that way, Your Majesty” and he returned to his post, standing there stiffly. 

I pressed open the door and encountered Satoru...asleep on top of some kind of lavish carpet and also a bunch of scrolls. I stomped the ground, pretending I could earthbend. The stomps made him blink his eyes a few times, look up and go “Ah! Your Majesty!” he struggled to pop up and give me a bow. I waved it off. “No need for the formalities here, Satoru” and we shook hands. “So, whatcha doing here sleeping on all these drawings?” He shuffled the papers around and picked up a stack. “Oh, these are some designs I thought up”. I looked down at the drawings. All kinds of strange vehicles. Trucks, large and small. Vehicles with wheels. I saw a drawing that looked like a crossbow and inquired about that first. “So what’s the deal with this drawing?” I held it up while he adjusted his stack of papers. “Oh, the Mechanist informed me that the Tundra Tanks have grappling hooks for scaling walls. So I figured, why not create a crossbow that fires grappling hooks? Of course” he adjusted his glasses “Its just an idea”. I smiled. It  _ was _ creative, even if it sounded really idiotic. I shuffled through his papers.

More tank designs. Tanks with boat prows. Tanks that fire giant stone balls. A completely different crossbow design. “So you’ve read about the repeating crossbow, right?”  _ Of course I have, standard issue for the Imperial Army.  _ “Well this thing is  _ like _ a repeating crossbow, only it shoots tiny metal projectiles. Same mechanism for firing.” _What's the point?_ I looked through other papers and found the one I was interested in from earlier. The artillery piece is  _ long _ . He ripped it out of my hand and loudly said “That, Your Majesty, is a Siege Cannon. A massive artillery piece-” Suddenly, the door behind us flew open. “Did you mention something massive?” the blind earthbender stormed in grinning. Satoru bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty. Care for an explanation?” She punched the air. “You can bet Kyoshi’s life on it!” and pushed me aside. "The Siege Cannon is  _ just _ an idea. Including the barrel, it’d be the length of a city block. The barrel or the tube is as wide as a truck is long. The Mechanist and I joked that it would be  _ hilarious _ if we could fire entire mountainsides at people, but-” Toph grabbed  _ me _ and yelled at Satoru. “No. It  _ would _ be hilarious. And we’re going to do it. And you’re going to design it”. Satoru looked like he was about to faint. “Guards!” she yelled. Wuhan ran over. “Yes, Your-” “I want a messenger hawk sent to General How, tell him ‘my Idea Guy came up with a war-winning invention’.” Wuhan bowed and ran off. Satoru actually fainted. 

Next morning, we arrived at the Chin Province Depot. The past two days, every four hours we’d reach a small outpost where the earthbenders would switch off. Now at the Depot, we ground to a halt. Satoru, after recovering from fainting, got to work drawing up a detailed schematic of his idea. The two of us got off the train, dressed in Imperial Robes and were greeted by lots of fanfare and stiff backs. These people looked exhausted  _ and _ bored. The officer got out of his chair, he was playing tiles, and walked over to us. “Good morning, Your Majesty and Your Majesty” he bowed, twice. Then he fell backwards. “Well I think this guy needs to sleep”. The soldiers took this the wrong way and someone drew a dao to execute him. “No, not that kind of sleep. Just sleep sleep”. The soldier who clutched his sword dropped it and fell backwards as well.  _ Amazing _ . The three of us, along with the Royal Guards got in an earth junk and set sail for home. The junk flew the Imperial Sigil for sails.   


Sailing past Chin Village, it was a wasteland. Ashen. Gone. No houses left. Just piles of rubble and ash.  _ Serves ‘em right _ . According to the records from the local officer, a mercenary group contracted by the Fire Nation reduced it to nothing after they helped the Avatar. Personally, I see no problem with this.   


Kyoshi Island:

As we were sailing from the north, we would have to sail around the mountains to reach the cove. The tallest peak, titularly named Mount Kyoshi, appeared first. Snow-capped year round, it was always my goal to ascend it. The rest of the mountains ascended from the horizon and I realized  _ I’ve actually been on a couple of those _ . One mountain, third to the right of Kyoshi, had Hidden Lake buried behind a barren rim. The inside approach has the interested traveler ascend a path worn down by three hundred years of intrepid teenagers. From the outside, Kyoshi Island looks as barren as the Poles but in all reality, it's a hidden gem. As we approached the island, I spotted Sentinel Hill. A small house always sat atop it, three Kyoshi Warriors always manned it. As I expected, a small figure ran out of the house and suddenly a gong sounded. Toph and the guards looked to me, I told them “it's an early warning system. Don’t worry”. We rounded the corner of Chin Cliff, the sole part of the entire island that comes out to a jagged cliff edge as opposed to a slope down to the beach. Passing along it, I recalled that this was the site where my great-great-great-great-great-grandmother killed Chin. As we passed Chin Cliff, I looked at a grotto that I never visited. Looking at it caused me to get lightheaded and afterwards, I fainted from something.   


I came to not long later, Toph blocking the sun and feeling my chest with her hand. “That was a hard fall, Kyoshi. You alright?” She helped me up. “Kind of?” We were arriving at Kyoshi Island. “What about the Unagi?” I yelled, recalling the famed monster.  _ That’s what is was, right? _ “What’s an Unagi?” Satoru asked. I explained it to him and the entire crew shook their heads, saying “we didn’t see anything like that”. 

Arriving at the port, we were greeted with cheers. Lots of cheers. I walked up to the railing and the entire crowd erupted in cheers. “The One Eyed Badgermole returns!” Children and parents, some of whom were my cousins, cheered. As it turns out, Kyoshi Island isn’t populated by  _ only _ Kyoshi’s descendants. I just happen to have a direct line back to Kyoshi. My father was the son of Koko the Sixth. Nonetheless, the crowd was elated. “The Son of Kyoshi returns!” people cheered. I laughed to Toph. “This is the one place in the Earth Kingdom where you aren’t the most popular” and got a jab in the shoulder. Hardy Kyoshians had repaired the main village after a certain young angsty teen torched it last winter. Say what you will but we know how to rebuild log cabins.  


I introduced everyone to “my new friends”. I told them how Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors were doing, especially how they were bringing Kyoshi’s principles to the mainland. I described how the Earth Kingdom was adapting and using the Colony’s egalitarian policies. I got resounding applause from them all. The Royal Guard and the three of us sat down in the Great House and filled ourselves with dinner while Oyaji spoke to Toph. He was elated to be related to the Queen. She guaranteed that they’d receive full autonomy, they insisted to remain a part of the Kingdom. She went “but can’t I order you to be independant?” and Oyaji went “sure, Your Majesty, but I can choose to make myself a vassal of the Earth Kingdom. No edicts against that.” He was right. So Kyoshi Island remained a “Free City” of the Earth Kingdom. This marks our second Free City after Omashu. 

The Royal Guard were elated to have all these dessert variants. I walked around the village and met people I knew from childhood. They were interested in “what was your daily life like”, I downplayed the nonsense that happens -all the boring court meetings and getting pounded by Toph's feet- and up-played the actual cool stuff, like decapitating General Shinji or killing some guy on a boat. Most of the villagers were at the Great House for dinner. This one guy was foaming at the mouth and fainted when I told them how I bonked Fire Lord Ozai on the head with a whiskey bottle. In retrospect, he's been a major part of Kyoshi Island's culture in the past generation. The Royal Guard had set up earth tents outside the village, along the docks, for tents. 

I went back to Oyaji’s house. Suki also lived here. She wasn’t here, of course. She was off enjoying Yu Dao with her boyfriend. Opening the door, I heard voices. Children’s voices. Faint, distant. They were just hallucinations.  _ Just manifestations of all those years _ . It was still bright enough out that I didn’t need a torch inside. I walked into our room. Memories flooded in.

The two low beds still sat there. She always got to sleep next to the window, I slept next to the door. Our old game,  _ Invaders _ . “You guard the door!” she’d yell while ducking behind the window. I would whack the door with a wooden stick while she’d slice the air with her fans. Suki’s little mirror, where she put on her warrior makeup, was covered in dust. So was everything else, now that I thought about it. The mountains out the window glowed that nice afternoon orange, meaning the sun was low in the sky. That could mean it was spring, summer or autumn. I remember that orange autumn glow they’d have. I remember looking out this window many times, waiting for Suki to get home from Kyoshi Warrior training. I remember when the winters would come and the snow’d come up to the bottom of the window. I climbed out once, assuming I could walk on it. Nope. Fell right into the snowbank. Woke up wrapped in ten blankets and Suki was serving me a cup of tea. I used to get home before her.  _ You’re born to lead, she’s born to kill  _ I always heard from people.    


I remember sitting on Suki’s bed, playing with her, one afternoon. We both just returned from the coast, we were both thirteen. She had just had a ceremony “when the girl becomes a woman” and she didn’t stop making jokes about it -yes, congrats on all the dessert- on the walk home. Lots of jokes. Oyaji knocked, entering. We were literally intertwined, her arm on my head and mine around her shoulders. We were going to start wrestling, a popular pastime, but not that day. He came in and instructed the two of us to sit on the bed and pay attention to him. So I tried to. That was the day he told me  _ why _ I was living there. He had always called me his son, but that day, I learned he was my uncle. My actual parents died a few weeks after I was born, sometime in the winter but not long after the red sun first tainted the peaks red. Fishers by trade, they were killed during a skirmish somewhere near Chin Village between the Southern Water Navy's 'raiders' and a Fire Nation garrison. He thereafter took it upon himself to raise me as his “son”. I was shocked to hear the news, sure. I mean, how shocking  _ can _ it be? So I find out my dad isn’t my dad but my actual parents died in the Hundred Year War. But I had no connection to them, so it's not like it matters. It saddened me at the time, but the only thing that actually changed “so now I have to call you cousin”. The same sibling wrestling and terrible jokes took place. We could still out-dare each-other, just not as siblings.  


The Immortal:

I went out for an evening stroll. The villagers were gathered around and in the Great House. Kyoshi Island has sure shrunk over the years. When I was a kid, there were adult men running about. Except for Oyaji, they’re gone. Most died at sea. Some died fighting men of Chin. The occasional Fire Nation cruiser, an officer that landed proclaiming “this beach and all its land under the name of His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Azulon!” would kill many more men and women. Most of the villages are gone. Oyaji, once just the head of this village, became head of the entire Island after the previous largest village, it had like three more houses for the record, was burned to a crisp “on orders of Fire Lord Azulon”. Thus, Oyaji became head of one village and a couple cabins scattered across the island. The second largest village has two houses and its a fishing dock beneath Mount Kyoshi, using the straits to the north to fish.  


While I walked down the main path, a straight line from the Great House to the docks, a man in a robe approached. I was quick to grip my hilt. From beneath a hood, he said “No badgermoles will tunnel, no dragons will fly. Winter will equalize all.” His raggedy figure...those words. A memory resurfaced.

_ One day, I was walking down by the docks, passing the time in the summertime’s afternoon sun. Suki and Aoma were playing hide and seek and I was already tagged so I went off to wander. I knew the docks. A couple wharfs and that’s it. But that day, someone different. Kyoshi Island has the same couple fishers that come here to trade. This man, I had never seen before. He stood next to a small fishing boat, just like other fishers, but there was something about him.  _

_ He had a long white beard and a thin, long, mustache. His eyes were a dull green. His white hair was held in a hairband. His skin was as white as snow. He wore clothes stained with years of begging. Upon seeing me, he bowed. I knew the danger that foreigners to the island posed. I wasn’t about to get on his boat. When he opened his mouth, the same voice.  _

_ “Son of Oyaji” he called out. I was widely known on the island for being the “Son of Oyaji” even if he wasn’t my father. I bowed. “You are tall for your age”. I bowed. “I'm proud to see the descendants of Kyoshi still grow as tall as she once did” I bowed. In my mind, everyone knew who Kyoshi’s descendants were. “There’s only a couple of you left, you know”. I didn’t know what he was referring to then. Now, I know he was referring to how only a couple of us who bore the blood of the Avatar still lived.  
_

_ “The badgermole and the dragon. Winter will destroy both” he said, smiling. He put the box next to him in the boat, cast off, and left. I never saw him again. Until now _ .

“You…” I held my blade up to him. “Yes?” he said, revealing his figure. A elderly man, deathly pale. His hair was like Zuko’s, except wrapped in a green headband. He had a torso length wispy white beard. His mustache was thin and long, stretching across his cheeks and coming to points. He wore the clothes of a beggar, the same stains I remember. And his eyes. They looked like Toph’s. Glazed over greenish hue. As I looked over him, he looked over me. He glanced down at my Imperial clothing. My lavish blue scabbard. Everything decorated with that yellow fan and white boar. He visibly shook when he saw my eyepatch. “Who are you?” I asked, jutting the blade  _ ever closer _ to the man. The dark sky and cold air didn't help. He exhaled softly but I could feel the power behind it. The chi.   


“I’m Lao Ge” he bowed. “Why in the name of Her Imperial Majesty would I care?” I asked.  _ Oh boy _ . He let out a not-forced-but-sounds-forced laugh. “Son of Kyoshi, I should really introduce myself. After all, I serve the Line of Kyoshi!” he let out a snicker and pulled off his shirt, revealing King Bumi sized muscles. 

“Tieguai the Immortal, at your service!” and he bowed, keeping his eyes locked on me.

“Hey, I remember that guy from the stories!" 

_ Oh. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To continue our Germany references (avid readers recall that I referenced them for gliding and pilots), Satoru and the Mechanist are proposing building the equivalent of the Schwere Gustav Siege Cannon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerer_Gustav Kuvira built a spirit-energy version in LoK. I figure, Toph loves giant siege weapons because she's a walking siege weapon, so clearly the R&D would work towards building giant cannons. Plus giant cannons are cool.
> 
> Lao Ge/Tieugai the Immortal was a companion of Avatar Kyoshi. I elevated him to myth status as being a companion of Kyoshi. For Rise of Kyoshi readers, you'll love him next chapter. Everyone else, he's like the Consort's version of a mentor figure.


	44. Friendly Earth Kingdom Immortal Assassin Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lao Ge has a fun time fucking with the Consort. Is it true? Is it false? You don't know and neither do I!

HIM Entry XLIV:

I sheathed my blade. Not a good idea to keep one pointed at the best assassin in the world. 

Discussions with a Secret Immortal Assassin:

“_ His Imperial Majesty _ ” he said, twisting the title to sound like a derogatory comment. “I think the better title for you is The One-Eyed Badgermole, if I’m allowed to speak,” and he let out a laugh. “I…” I had to pause for a second to catch my breath and try not to shoot myself in the foot. “Yeah, you can speak. Who am I to stop you?” He put his shirt back on. “No need to show off anymore, I might be a cold person but I still get cold” and he shot me a Bumi smile. _ Are all these old guys related or something. Well, yes, they all go to the White Lotus club meetings _. 

“So, you part of the White Lotus?” I asked, might as well dive straight into the important stuff. “Why in the name of your wife would I be? It's boring. Prince, er Lord, er King Bumi’s a great guy, though”. _ So he does know Bumi. _ “Why aren’t you killing me, by the way? Aren’t you some super assassin?” I went to sit down on a nearby stone stool, probably erected years ago. Up the hill, the sounds of a party and people chanting “Long Live the Earth Queen”. If I was to guess, she was having a drink-off with the Royal Guard.

“Because you haven’t done anything tyrannical yet” he commented. “But...I...the Northern Water Tribe. Doesn’t count?” _ No. No. You shot yourself in the foot. Toph-damnit. _He put his arm around my shoulder. “Hey, they were a bunch of chauvinistic jerks. You saved me a kill” and he flashed me a wink and a smile. 

“What was that about spooky badgermoles?” My mind, having returned from trying to shoot myself in the foot, remembered the actual reason we convened. “Spooky badgermoles? Oh, no you mean” he made his voice much deeper and pronounced every word nice and _ slow _ , “The badgermole and the dragon, winter will destroy both”. _ Nice spooky effect _ . “I got that, Master Ge, but what _ about it?” _ He looked at me and realized I meant ‘please clarify it’. “Oh. So badgermoles are earth, right? And dragons are fire, right? Winter destroys earth and fire”. I slapped myself in the face. “Yes, but you told me this like a decade ago or something and just repeated it now”. He let out a roaring laugh, his arm still around my shoulder. “Well yes. Because I wanted to warn you about the danger of winter”. As he said that all seriously, I responded with "so you knew about my eventual ascension as the Earth Queen's Consort and wanted to warn me of my opponents?" He simply laughed. "No...I wanted to warn you about freezing to death. I love the descendants of Kyoshi. Winter is cold". I slapped my face again. “You’ve _ got _ to be kidding…” he held up a hand. “I am, that’s correct-” but I reverse cut him off.

“Where were you the past century?” He let out a laugh, again. “You want to know? Sit back, son” he pulled his hand off, I tried my best to recline, and he stood to lecture.

“So this past century was entertaining. Poisoned a Fire Lord because I was too tired to slit his throat. Was a long day, had to kill an entire dynasty of jesters first because they didn’t tip someone. Taught herbalist classes and one of my students eventually gave birth to a girl who also got to kill a Fire Lord. I take credit though because I taught her. Or maybe her mom, I have no idea. I killed an Earth King, forgot which number but he was a terrible, terrible guy. No I'm _not_ referring to the guy who had a death by a hundred concubines, that wasn't on me” _ Oh _ . “Trust me. Like, really bad. Killed like five different Generals by doing the old one-daughter-five-guys trick, making them kill each other for some noble’s daughter that never even existed. Then killed the last guy. I _ tried _ to kill Prince Lu Ten, since I feared that he’d end the war, but nooooo” he whined. “Your best friend, that old fat guy with the bow, did him over first. Not only that, but the war didn’t end!” _ Oh. _ “I couldn’t care less to get involved with this new Avatar’s business. I predict he’s going to meet an early grave at the hands of someone who isn’t a pacifist. You know, when I was in Caldera, during the Siege, I _ thought _ he’d die. But no. Magic girlfriend to the rescue” he scoffed. _Oh._ “But why didn’t you kill Ozai?” “I was waiting for him to kill a bunch of morons who were morons then kill him in retaliation, pin it on you or Suki and boom ‘savior of the world’” he did air quotes “but _ noooo _ your wife sticks a metal spike through him.” _ Oh _ . "Makes me love your wife and no not in the same way the one-hundred and twelve year old guy loves the fourteen year old girl" _Wait which one hundred and twelve year old guy. There's two of them, and knowing you popping into existence, who knows how many more. _

I raised my hand like I was in the Great House -still partying- learning. He pointed at me, “yes, my sole pupil present right now who's wasting a great opportunity to get hammered?” “Well thanks for that, Lao. What about the prophecy?” He sat back down next to me, smiling. “I’m trying to warn you about the Water Avatar.” _ Well that’s helpful _ . “That’s _ really _ helpful, considering we’re still at Air Avatar” I said sarcastically. “Well yeah but if I’m right, he’ll meet an early end. Boom" and he tossed his hands about "Water Avatar. A waterbending Avatar could learn to bloodbend _ and _ metalbend. I get nightmares thinking of that and I haven't gotten nightmares since I tossed that baby out a window so he wouldn't grow up to be a genocidal maniac, only to then get haunted by a spirit, have sex with her, then she left me alone”. I rolled my eye, _ again, how helpful _ . “So it's a warning about a person?” I asked. He laughed, arm back around me. “No of course not. It’s a warning about winter”. _ Oh for Toph’s sake. _ “You. Just. Said.” but he cut me off. “Hey, whaddya think I am, a future-seer?” he snickered. “Hey, if you lived a thousand years, is it ten thousand, I don't know, you’d also start seeing patterns” _ Well that just raises more questions _ . “Let me guess, you aren’t going to help us in this war because you _ want _ Aang to die? He isn’t a tyrant, though.” He continued laughing.

“You’re right. But he ran away from his responsibilities. There are, or were, only a dozen or so Air Nomads that escape the purges and went into hiding. They assimilated into the Earth Kingdom and married. I knew each monk and nun. They were the wild tiles in the temples. They ran around the world as opposed to sticking around for a Summer Festival. The wild ones tend to survive mass genocides. No airbending children, though. One in a hundred thousand people are airbenders, and that was back when you had a whole Nation repopulating with their Autumn Fertility meetings. Imagine an entire temple of people who are all celibate until a one week period when all the monks and nuns of childbearing age meet up and have mass childrearing sessions that usually backfire when someone 'ooh's too hard and flings themselves out a window. I’m getting too far into history, sorry. Anyways, he could’ve either prevented it -defeating the Fire Nation assault on whatever temple he was at- or taken his bison and gone into hiding. Gyatso could’ve joined him. He could’ve learned from dozens of masters. Back when waterbenders were plentiful. Bumi was going to be his earthbending master, the last King of Omashu could've kept him safe forever as Omashu hadn't fallen for a century. Finally, firebenders who were against Sozin's invasion might've sided with him. The White Lotus would've welcomed him in, those snobby bastard sons of Oma. Unlike me, a 'proper' illegitimate son of Oma." he let out a smirk. "But no. He ran away. Kyoshi” he let out a single tear “...oh Kyoshi, Roku fought for what he believed, this guy ran off.” 

“Why help us, though?” A question I was pondering this whole time. His face grew dark, sad. A single tear rolled down his cheek. “Kyoshi stood her ground. She was a master of neutral jing. She listened and listened and listened. In my countless years roaming this world, I had never met someone who I considered a friend. Until her. I really enjoyed the two centuries I spent counseling her, teaching her. On her deathbed, a hundred and eighty years ago, she asked me to teach her descendants. To help them. Of course I’d say yes.” _ Wow...I... _ his face became lightened. “And now, here I am!” he laughed. “But what about the Winter thing?” I asked. It was getting colder out. The party sounded like it was dying down. “Leave, son, come find me after the Fire Nation is defeated.” I got up and bowed to him. He smiled. “My home’s in the grottos beneath Chin Cliff. Kyoshi herself terraformed the island to be what she wanted, by the way. She was just _that_ badass. Gave her girlfriend Rangi her own private hidden mountain lake to go sauna herself in. Gave me the grottos because its 'what I deserved'” he winked. 

“Thanks for that, Master Lao Ge!” I raised my hands to give him a bow. He smirked. “Forget coming to me, if you ever need me I’ll be around! I'm definitely joining you guys for the inevitable 'giant fuckoff cannon versus Caldera' siege! Tieguai the Immortal, forever at the service of the Line of Kyoshi!”

I turned and walked towards the Great House. When I reached the steps, I spun around. His ghastly eyes turned to face me from off in the distance. His eyes reflected light from the Great House. He bowed again. Then he left, disappearing into the darkness with no sounds of footsteps.

I barged back inside, the villagers picked me up and chanted “The One Eyed Badgermole!”. I was out of it. I told Toph I was tired and I fell asleep in the middle of the party while sitting in front of my fifth portion of dessert. I was carried back to the ship and deposited there. 

Returning Home:

We sailed back north that night. Toph left with fanfare, I’d assume. Next morning, the red sun rose over the ashes of a coastline. The whole Chin coast was put to the torch. We departed for the train, passing the same incompetent officers and crowds of soldiers chanting our names. My mind was out of it. I needed time to relax and recuperate.

Thankfully, I got that time while on the train north. Kind of. We were asked whether we wanted to return to Yu Dao or not. Toph punched the ground and demanded we go back to Ba Sing Se. For...reasons. The time I wasn’t sleeping, I looked at the carriage’s library. Books “handpicked for the Consort” as everyone knows Toph can’t read.

We’ve got such wonderful titles as _ the 50th Earth King’s Guide to Royal Law _ and _ Want Heirs? Here’s How! _ The second one was written with the assumption that the reader is a woman. A woman who not only knows _ nothing _ but also happens to be a idiotic oaf that was probably just picked for good looks or because political marriage. There’s other books there. Fire Nation works picked up in the Colonies. _ Fire Lord Azulon: Bucket List _ . A geography guide written a decade ago, covering the few places across the world that old guy hadn’t been to. “While His Royal Highness, Fire Lord Azulon, did once travel through the Si Wong Desert, he would not recommend it as a place to vacation”. _ Azula’s First Flame, _ a children’s story to be used for teaching children to read. It had a passage like this: “Azula jumped and Azula ran. She stuck her finger at the tall bad man, blue fire hit the tall bad man and he fell over. One less bad man. Long Live Fire Lord Azulon”. 

I spent _ far _ too long reading the entire Carriage Collection. My favorite piece, if I had to pick one, is _ The Hundred Year War _ by _ A. Firebender _ . It’s written by this guy who took part in a dozen different battles. He had a few moments to shine, namely accidentally fooling an enemy officer into thinking he was leading a battalion. The credit went to his officer, of course. The end of the story sucks. He sees the error of siding with Team Genocide and gets recruited by the Dai Li. 

Deserters versus the Earth Queen, I wonder how that’ll go:

While practicing my archery, dressed in my Imperial Informal Robes with jian at the side, the Carriage suddenly grinded down. I took my bow and arrows and ran out the door. “Guards!” I yelled. Wuhan was already running towards us, the rest of the Royal Guard following suit. Toph, meanwhile, dressed in her wrestler outfit, put her fist to the ground. “Bandits killed the train pushers!” he called out, tearing off a metal sheet from the roof and tearing it into two long blades. “Where’s Satoru?” I yelled. “No idea!” he responded. Suddenly, a clatter of footsteps. A couple men, dressed like Fire Nation soldiers, jumped in through the door and were in the aisle. “Who are you?” I asked, nocking an arrow thinking _ let's do the arrow thing! _ Toph was hiding -no wait this is Toph, she was cleverly disguised- behind one of the seat areas, Wuhan across the aisle from her. The rest of our Guard were hiding behind other seats. _Leave the Imperial Consort to die, is this what I get for not paying for whiskey on whiskey night?_ “Ex-Fire Army” and he coiled up for a punch but _ twing _ arrow through the eyehole. Toph let out a laugh while the men behind him ran forwards. Thankfully the entrance was so thin they’d have a traffic jam climbing over their arrow-clutching friend.

The first guy tripped over a “whoops, you didn’t see that there did you?” courtesy of Toph. The second guy got “bend this!” and a _ thunk _ with an arrow to the eye. The third guy, dressed like an Imperial Firebender, ran past Toph’s position and she physically _ grabbed _ his armor, freezing him mid jog. He couldn’t turn around to punch her. She clenched her right fist and the armor _ crushed the man inside _ . His screams were quite loud and soon it was just a bloody metal casket roughly looking like armor on the floor. She also accidentally sliced his limbs off with her crunching. The men behind this guy froze in shock, as you do when you’re best fighter just got crushed by the teenage girl picking her nose. So they screamed and chaotically barreled forwards. _ Bonk! _ One of the men in the aisle got a wrench right to the helmet. The wielder, goggle wearing Satoru, emerging from his workroom. Said man looked dizzy for a second, then stumbled backwards and right off the train. From a different door, between the seating area and the weapons room, another band of outlaws jumped in. These guys had some sense, they tried to _flank_ us.

I only had enough time to put an arrow in the lead guy before elbowing the second one, sending him stumbling right into Wuhan’s metal blades. _ Ouch, two straight blades, two eyes _ . Toph jumped out of her hiding position, screamed, scaring these idiotic outlaws, then tackled the lead man. She stomped the ground as she tackled him, causing his head to smash on an earth pillar as she fell ontop of him, still screaming into his face. She tore open his metal helmet and planted her foot in his face. Now _that_ will go on a propaganda poster. “That all you got?” she yelled in her wrestler voice. The men continued their screaming contest. Another man was crushed inside his own armor. The other got two earth pillars, courtesy of a ‘crossing-bridge’ charade, from wall to neck. The rest of the Royal Guard engaged with earth gauntlets or metal fists, smashing faces and chests in. In close quarters, the earth gauntlet is an outstanding weapon. 

Meanwhile, Wuhan was using his dao experience well, wielding two metal blades like curved swords. He and I sliced the last of the train-bound men into pieces, then we told Toph we were going to attack these deserters outside, she nodded and we jumped out. “Guards, protect the Queen!” Wuhan yelled. Shi, Jie and the rest formed up around Toph. Satoru dropped his weapon and ran back inside his room to quiver, I assume. Too bad he doesn't have an Earth Queen to partake in celebratory whiskey guzzling with.

“That’s a lot of deserters” Wuhan murmured. Looking up, a couple dozen deserters were looking down at us from the hillside. “Toph! Get out here!” I screamed, hoping she’d answer. She did, jumping out the backdoor. The rest of the Royal Guard filed out, getting into stances. Instantly, she snapped her wrists forward, first two punches up then finger stabbing the air. Two large earth pillars came out from underneath her and split into ten small pillars. The deserters punched fire blasts at us but they were too far. The pillars flew up the hillside and went right into the group, breaking against their bodies. Toph forcefully lowered both her hands, breaking the smashed pillars into small shrapnel and sent it flying across the hillside. People were filled with small stone projectiles. Royal Guard pulled head-sized boulders out of the ground and flung them up hill. An endless set of quick jabs. Meanwhile, Guards from the carriage in front of ours were launching fortified earth discs from behind metallic cover. We were the last carriage in this small train. The one in front was designed like the bow of a Navy Cruiser, the same offensive positions with large, lowerable, metal walls. “And I’m just getting started!” she cracked a grin, reached behind her and summoned a metal sheet. She punched the ground and pulled it up, turning the whole hillside into a large ramp. Meanwhile, she fell into the metal sheet and emerged a metallic warrior. Wuhan took his twin blades and javelined one man with both, using a wrist flick followed by another. His poles pinned the man’s chest and leg to the mountainside. I nocked, aimed, picking my target; a female who stumbled to her feet and _ twing _ . Right into her right arm. She grabbed the arrow, her screams just barely reaching over the rest of the shredded _ daofei _ screams. Men in the front carriage picked up earth discs and flung them up at the tumbling deserters. Turns out, the fortified earth disk is a hard hitter. While tiny, one shot from one of those against an unarmed opponent will break bones. I watched one Royal Guard use his left hand to raise an earth disk, spinning it, and fired it up the hill with his right hand. It smashed into a soldier, _ ouch _.

Most of the deserters tumbled down the hillside. The shredded ones became like a rain of _ now you'll learn your lesson, you morons _ . The unlucky ones got crushed by other soldiers falling on top of them. A few got shots off against Toph, but she simply raised her hand, closed her fist, and consumed an entire portion of the hillside and accompanying daofei. One man who had gotten up punched fire blasts at Toph, she waved her hand making a rotating earth shield. When she finally reached him, she punched him in the face with a metal fist. Metal breaks bone. _ Smush _ . Other Royal Guards were repeating this along the hill, teams of two or three running forward, pulling metal off dead soldiers and fluidly morphing it into metal weapons. A few firebenders got shots off, sure, but most of them were hammered in close quarters combat. Others were pelted with earth discs and small earth boulders. Any jabs they attempted would be met head-on, let the Queen be an example, by face-melting boulders.

I was getting bored of the lack of slicy action, so I drew my blade and ran up to the body pile. A soldier grabbed my leg, barely able to move, but his arm was sliced off by a suddenly-appeared Toph standing at my side. “Why’d you take my-” “Oh shush Kyoshi, everyone knows I’m the best” she shoved me backwards and fist pumped in self-applause. She jumped up and down, stomping the ground and giving this body pile a very painful back massage. Then she ran off to join her allies in the dancing competition. One guard handed me his whiskey. The loud foot-stomping was less loud thanks to this _potent_ stuff. "Go protect the Queen" and my guards ran off.

I looked left and saw a platoon of nonbenders, somehow surviving this whole engagement, charging towards me. "Guards, onwards!" and I drew my jian and ran right towards them. In classic Consort fashion, the good stuff made me forget that I had no bodyguards and was one guy charging at a whole band of sober nonbenders.

A horn blared. The platoon spun around just in time to see one of their own heads removed by a passing sword strike. 

A mounted detachment of the Earth Army arrived, horns bellowing like a really awful mating call. Most of the rider were wielding single daos. The platoon was split into pieces and cut apart as they tried to retreat. The lead man, dressed in standard officer garb, blew into his horn. “Your Majesty!” the lead officer shouted, raising his fist as he halted his ostrich horse. “Are you-” I raised my hand “I'm fine, to the Queen!”. He gestured a “let’s go” finger point and the riders shouted "To the Queen!" passed along the bottom of the ramp, mopping up the deserters. I only got to stab _one _guy who somehow evading the ostrich horse stampede. And it was a disappointing stab. I anointed myself with some dead guy's whiskey in celebration.

An hour later, many bodies removed and two new soldiers at our back, we were on our way north again. One of the Royal Guard from the front of the train had rode an earth wave away and found help within a few minutes. After all, every valley along the trainline has a small military outpost for just this purpose, manned by a detachment of cavalry or in rough terrain, infantry.

And like _ that _, a metaphorical finger snap, we were on our way north again. “Well blood doesn’t wash out, does it?” Satoru complained. “Eh, seen a bunch, kinda lost its shock value” Wuhan commented while wiping off his armor.

Toph and I clinked glasses to enjoy this liberated whiskey from people who had their heads liberated. Not as good as the clear stuff brewed back on the Island, not nearly as bad as the joke of a alcohol those temperate wimps call wine.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, big cannon go boom during a quick trip to the Capital.  
Lao Ge's going to make reappearances in the future, don't worry. And when he eventually does, he'll be a massive showoff. 
> 
> I'm amazed at the number of views this little passion project of mine has. I only expected a few people to see it and maybe one or two kudos, thank you all for your support! It really means a lot to me. 
> 
> I'd love some suggestions for antics that the Earth Queen gets into as once Book 3 ends, the story doesn't have to be so linear.


	45. Artillery, Artillery, Factories, Artillery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toph and Consort return to Ba Sing Se for a night, discuss inventions and technology, end it off with a bang and no not one of those bangs.

HIM Entry XLV:

We eventually returned to Ba Sing Se. Looking out into the Agrarian Zone, much of the land around the train was replaced by empty stone buildings. “Toph, what’s the deal with the factories covering the Agrarian Zone?” I asked her. “Oh, Kyoshi, you must’ve missed the edict I passed out ordering part of the Agrarian Zone be transformed into factories. Most of these buildings aren’t complete yet.” As I found out later, metalbending is slowly spreading down the ranks. One out of a hundred earthbenders can metalbend, in an army of two hundred thousand, that’s two thousand benders. But these factories aren’t operated by metalbenders. Nonbenders from the Lower Ring have found jobs in these factories. Fifty nonbenders can accomplish what one metalbender can do. But we also rule a city of two million people. Lots of workers. 

Returning to the Upper Ring, this time on our own train line, we took an Imperial Carriage to the Palace. The streets weren’t as desolate as in the past. Middle Ringers seemed to have moved into the former mansions. The area around the Jasmine Dragon was converted into a stable -that is, fence around a piece of land- for a _ dragon _ to relax in. Druk had lots of civilians gathered around the fence with a “trespassers might be consumed, passerbys might be torched” sign. Some guy was drawing the dragon, no he wasn't the Court Painter, as he relaxed in the sun. I had the Imperial Carriage stop, the crowd had already dispersed and was in the process of bowing to the Carriage. I opened the door, the crowd kowtowed. I bowed to the dragon. “Greetings, Druk! My best wishes for the Prince!” He opened his eyes, looked over to me, and spread his wings, causing a large gust to assault the crowd. He lumbered, every footstep a quake, over to the edge of his pen. Sticking his neck out over the fence, the crowd wavered. He edged up rright up to me, the Royal Guards around us in stances ready for some emergency procedures. Instead, I felt his strong, hot, breath, bowed to him royalty-to-royalty style, and placed my hand on one of his whiskers and lightly petted him. I pulled my hand back, gave him another bow, turned around...and Toph left an earth wave for me to catch up on. Of course she did. In case that wasn’t annoying enough, I spotted Appa flying towards the Palace from the west.

Many minutes later of walking, I was back at the Imperial Palace. The Gates opened, horns sounded and bannermen gave pursuit. I ascended the thousand stairs as Team Avatar dismounted their bison and went inside their Guest House. Now more like an embassy, I’d wager. I reached the Imperial Bedroom and “Your Majesty, what an honor!” Ming called out, bowing formally. I gave her a hug instead, which she appreciated. She helped me pull off my clothes and change into the Autumn Robes. “So how was Your Majesty’s trip south?” she asked while tying some knots. “It was alright. Went to Kyoshi Island, did some diplomacy, had some scuffles, came back”. Not long after, I thanked her, as usual and set off for the Badgermole Throne. The same guards were standing at their positions and bowed as I passed.

“His Imperial Majesty arrives!” I heard a distant courtier yell as the Badgermole Throne’s doors opened. The Royal Guards bowed. Horns sounded. The doors swung open, “Thanks Jeong and Song” and there she was, Toph, reclining on the Badgermole Throne, using a metal comb on her hair. The interior guards bowed. I strolled down the center of the room and stopped. I always knew there was a giant badgermole behind the Throne, clutching an earth coin.

Legends say Huang, the first Earth King, built the throne in honor of his pet badgermole, Adema. The other warlords came to him to bow beneath him and his pet standing behind him. He supposedly reigned thousands of years ago, back when the Four Nations weren't unified and the Water Tribes raided the Northern and Southern coasts. Unlike other times coming into this room, I _ really _ noticed the badgermole. It always made Toph that much more intimidating. If a blind girl wearing regal robes, or a wrestler outfit, sitting on a seat of gold wasn’t intimidating enough, the giant badgermole clutching the coin behind her, his eyes looming over her like a guardian spirit was. 

The badgermole and the dragon would have to wait. Tunneling? What can defeat the Imperial Army? Burning skies? We're taming the winds. The evil deathbringer winter, whether its some mystical spirit or a bloodbending master, must wait. A bloodbender can kill everything, but the Dai Li could just as easily kill her. I have a Kingdom to run. One giant Kingdom, one Queen and one Head of the Dai Li. 

Back to Business:

“Your Majesty” I bowed to her. The guards kowtowed. Her Imperial Majesty laughed. “That’s great, let’s get started!” and I took my place at the Consort Throne. “Summon General How and the General of the West! Summon the Mechanist and his inventors!” she shouted. Four Dai Li jumped down from their hiding posts in the ceiling and sprinted down the halls, elegant as shadows. “Your Majesty, what are we discussing today?” I bowed. “Well, I like artillery. We’re discussing artillery and other things” _ Okay then _. “Guards!” I called out. “Set up some tables!” A couple of the guards that stood near the middle of the Throne Room exited their posts and walked down the aisle to the right. 

First came the Mechanist, Satoru walking behind him carrying dozens of plans. They both looked at me and smiled. The guards arrived with tables and placed them in the center of the room, a coin’s throw from my Throne. The Three stood directly beneath Her Imperial Majesty. The Mechanist bowed, Satoru tried his best to bow while holding all these papers. “An honor to see you up and around, Your Majesty!” Satoru said, happy. The Mechanist grabbed scrolls from under his arm and unfurled them on the table, pinning the corners down with stones. Her Imperial Majesty gestured for me to come over. _ Time to be the Speaker _ . She whispered to me and I spoke out. “Thank you for coming, master and apprentice. Please explain your designs.” The Mechanist stepped in front of the table and spoke up. “So this is a Naval Artillery Piece. The barrel is as long as a trebuchet’s arm and as wide as a boulder. The tube allows a earthbender to focus his projectile, as such, it can hit the horizon if the shot's powerful enough.” Toph stomped the ground. “You have any test examples?” The Mechanist’s kind-of eyebrows raised. “I...didn’t you see them fire during the demonstration”. Her Imperial Majesty pointed at me “Did you?” I nodded. “I believe that’s what leveled the mountainside, Your Majesty”. She smiled “Sweet.” “So what of it, master Mechanist?” I asked. “Well, I come to request building _ this _” and he pulled out a different schematic. “What is it? That’s the same schematic” I asked, coldly. He laughed. “No, it's the same artillery piece. Just three times longer and three times wider”. Toph fell out of her chair in amazement. “So, Satoru, I see your Siege Cannon was approved” I said, laughing. “No, Your Majesty. It was considered “impossible to use” by General Song. However, this Siege Cannon was approved”. 

General Song casually strolled into the Throne Room, carrying a table. He wasn’t wearing his normal blade and bow, just a ceremonial jian. “General Song!” I called out. “Why are you carrying a table!” Song transitioned to carrying the table with one hand while laughing. “My apologies, Your Majesty. I was wondering if I could have a game of Pai Sho. Your Majesty’s honorable assassins told me something about tables, so I brought one. I hope you don’t mind someone else joining us!” and he walked to the side, revealing Iroh, carrying a bag. The guards got into stances. I raised my hand. “Halt men! Prince Iroh! Welcome back!” he brought up his hands and bowed royalty-to-royalty. Satoru turned around and I heard him yelp. “I hope you don’t mind us playing a game of Pai Sho, Your Majesty.” I laughed. “Sure, go ahead. Guards, help your elders!” and a couple guards exited their posts to carry the table and place it next to the Mechanist’s drawings. “Iroh, _ Prince _ Iroh, I’m so delighted to meet you!” Satoru said, running up to the old man. Iroh scratched his beard and laughed. “It is not often someone runs up to me in the Earth Kingdom with such greetings. I’m happy to meet you, too, whoever you are” and he gave a bow. 

A very distinct young man was yelling off in the distance. “But I don’t _ want _ to!” two Dai Li agents _ dragged _ him in, kicking and screaming up a storm. He looked up. “Oh, good day, heh”. Sokka got up and was deposited next to the other two. “So now the three Idea Guys are here” Her Imperial Majesty said. “Let’s continue, shall we?” she asked, beckoning them to actually get some ideas done. 

“Your Majesty, we would like to request your approval for a Siege Cannon to be built.” Toph stuck out her left hand, waiting for nothing. “My seal?” Wuhan reached into his bag and pulled it out. “Here you go, Your Majesty!” she took the seal. “Your Majesty, are you sure you don’t want me to stamp it?” Toph gritted her teeth. “I can do it just fine!” and she stamped a piece of paper five different times with five different incorrect orientations. “Okay…” and she gestured for a guard to bring it to me. Someone walked off their guard post, walked up to her, bowing, then walked towards me, bowing, and handed the seal to me. 

_Stamp._

Approving and Denying:

The three of them spent some time looking over the now dozen different designs. The following were a couple of their suggestions, some approved, some denied. “A Empire-class Battleship with two Naval Artillery pieces on it”. “Of course I want that!” _ Approved _ . “A repeating crossbow that shoots small metal balls”. “Who needs that when you have a repeating crossbow, though?” _ Denied. _ “The Siege Cannon” “Of course it’s approved. I want one functioning model” _ Approved for one model _ . “Regular sized Artillery to be mounted across the new ship model” “How many?” “Like six?” Sokka said, scratching his forehead. “Sure why not” _ Approved _ . “Caterpillar Tanks with a Tundra Tank’s rotating slit except replaced with a piece of artillery”. “How many men needed?” “Seven: Four drivers, a tank commander, a loader, a bombardier” “Why not stick two cannons on it?” “Okay but then we’d need another loader and bombardier” “Okay, then find another loader and bombardier” _ Approved _ . _ The first design was also approved _ . “A walking fortress” “Excuse me, what?” “Tracked, not walking. Needs ten drivers, has five artillery pieces strapped to it, very thick armor”. "What would it be called?" "The Thunderpounder, Your Majesty" "Oh so like Sokka's thick-" _Thanks, left hand, or maybe Imperial Censorship_ _Hand _“Why not just more artillery?” “Okay”. _ Denied _ . “Bombs to be launched from biplanes” “How would that work?” “A trigger mechanism” “Sure, build one” _ Approved _ . “Biplanes capable of landing on water, so called floatplanes” “Sure” _ Approved. _ “A Empire-class model, stripped of its tower, able to store and launch two squadrons of floatplanes” “Sure, not like I can fly one but I _heard_ they were pretty effective”. _ Approved _. 

General How arrived and was informed of all these new designs. He seemed to agree with Her Imperial Majesty’s requests for more artillery. “What’s the point of a tank with five artillery pieces, we have the materials for five artillery trucks?” Furthermore, it was decided that almost all of this ammunition would be made of stone. The Mechanist asked where our factories were, Her Imperial Majesty laughed “the army is a factory” and then nudged me to give an answer because "I have no idea, go tell them what you know, Kyoshi." “I have no idea, but How says the Agrarian Zone has been turned into factories. Is that right How?” He turned around, as if glancing for some assassin, and nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. In the past month, as per orders of Her Imperial Majesty and with the assistance of the Home Guard, we turned whole swaths of land into factories. Having an army of earthbenders and the assistance of a metalbending Royal Guard would allow one to accomplish that. Most of the Earth Kingdom’s factory output is located there, due to the protection the Outer Wall could give.” Iroh reminded us he was here, interrupting his game of Pai Sho with Song to explain “however, General, the past five years, the Outer Wall was breached twice”. Song laughed then moved a piece over and cheered "Got it!" with all the youthfulness of a youth and not some elderly war hero. How laughed. “So? We cover the Outer Wall in artillery pieces”. Toph smirked at the suggestion. The Mechanist continued his inquiry. “You’ve previously said that only one in a hundred earthbenders could learn metalbending, though. That’s a tiny number of metalbenders”. Toph got out of her chair, dusting herself off and pulled her metal ball out. “Correct. That’s why the ammunition is stone, not metal. But if you can get a couple metalbenders on each ship, you can do this!” and she punched the metal ball that was once a metal comb, sending it flying through the left wall. General Song interrupted. “What about the firebenders in our army?” The Mechanist bowed to him, and proposed that “we just have the firebenders punch through the same tube as the artillery piece. From my tests down at the docks, fire blasts from the tubes are more accurate. We don’t need a designated piece for firebenders."

Satoru’s requests are quite similar to Fong’s, even if we laughed at the General of the South the first few times. Non-bender versatility. In the Earth Kingdom, now including the Colonies, there is an overwhelming support for benders and bender-based armaments. Artillery fired by benders. Tanks that required benders. Biplanes possess much more usability to a firebender. He cites that “a nonbender can’t exactly retaliate an artillery shell with his crossbow”. I agree with him, of course. As a nonbender, I can’t possibly imagine to accomplish what Her Imperial Majesty could do. But his solutions? Launch fireworks at people? We have an army of earthbenders, a battalion of firebenders and hundreds of metalbenders. A single basic-trained earthbender could flatten five men with a boulder. And he implies that non-benders are ‘missing out’. Sure, in a one-to-one fight, I’m probably going to get killed by a trained firebender or earthbender, but I’m currently the second in command of the Earth Kingdom. He’s a mechanic and one of the top inventors. General Song _ might _ be a bender but nobody has ever seen him bend anything. The Kyoshi Warriors are excellent assassins and bodyguards.

Back to the Inventor’s Meeting. In response to Satoru’s requests, General How explained that there’s opportunity for nonbenders in the army. The repeating crossbow, with easily manufactured ammunition, can grant a soldier the ability to strike a firebender down before he can get the strike off. Her Imperial Majesty changed the conversation to ask General How about the status of the Imperial Earth Academy. After Yu Dao was taken, many women of various ages took the trains east to Ba Sing Se. The facility was opened for service around the time of Sozin’s Comet. A giant flag hangs from the front of Her Imperial Majesty sitting on the Badgermole Throne. There is an overwhelming number of Colonials attending the school compared to Earth Kingdom-born women. 

This leads into a different issue we’ve been facing. The nobility has, almost certainly, been behind our many assassination attempts. Alongside us, the rest of the Council of Five has had something like a hundred attempts on them combined. Officially, the nobility protest a pragmatic Queen. They claim “the Queen secretly meets with the Fire Lord to turn the Earth Kingdom into the Colonies”. While we aren’t talking to the Fire Lord, the Queen has obviously been inspired by the Colonies. What they don’t realize, that everyone from Her Imperial Majesty down to a lowly blacksmith has, is that the combination of a massive army that can build fortresses overnight and a century-old metallurgy can produce an army over the span of a few months. 

Her Imperial Majesty’s solution? She demanded the creation of a “Grand Secretariat!” and a man fell from the ceiling, dressed as a member of the Dai Li, named Han. "I'm the current head of the Dai Li, Your Majesty" _Well that's just a lie. I'm not sharing everything in these Imperial Records but he's most definitely not the head of the Dai Li. I am_. _Any man that has to shout that he is the Head of the Dai Li in front of world dignitaries is not the head of the Dai Li._ She ordered him to have the Dai Li, currently watching various noble compounds, to arrest the nobility and bring them back to Ba Sing Se for “crimes against the Queen.” As replacement, she contracted General How to “have your officers take control of their regions. I will appoint replacement nobility at a later point.” He called this a “changing of the guard” moment. He’s right. 

Test Firing:

Her Imperial Majesty ordered the Royal Guard to build a test model based on Satoru’s schematics, then dismissed the War Meeting. I also had Toph announce an edict that “we’d reinstate the Gentleman System for Officers”, the list of things officers used to have to master before becoming officers. I gave Song the title of “Chief Architect of the Gentleman System”, making this his responsibility, not mine. Not long after, while we were cleaning up after the War Meeting, we had to remind General Song and Prince Iroh to “please take your Pai Sho game elsewhere”, which just caused Sokka to follow the duo out the door. He’s “taken an interest” in Pai Sho, apparently. General Song said “I’d have some comments” on the War Meeting after the Pai Sho game ended. 

Grand Secretariat Han met me in my Imperial Consort Bedroom. "Your Majesty, I'm honored to be at your service" and all those pleasantries. We discussed the Dai Li operations, the usual stuff. Finding claimants to the Colonies and making them vanish, receiving reports from overseas spies, and so on. Previously, the big issue was infiltration in the Upper Ring. My last act as the Dai Li, "find those nobles and just kill them" and I dismissed him to go do cool stealth stuff while I had a massive piece of meat with my name on it.

We had dinner in our room, ignoring the requests of the Ministers to have a Minister meeting. They complained that “the nobles threaten rebellion” to which Toph scoffed, “so?” An hour of chomping on meat later, Suki arrived, her makeup all messed up.

“My apologies, Your Majesty, for arriving late,” she started, formally. I laughed and she broke her composure. “Oh Suki…” and we ran forward in a hug. “Eww” a distinct Water Tribesman screeched from behind the doorway. I leaned out of the hug to look at the doorway. “Don’t you have a house to go back to?” “No?” Suki got off of me and requested “a minute to go discipline my boyfriend” I smiled, and said “Go right ahead.” The door slammed shut. Then some yelling. Then some slapping. “Aw, they are so adorable!” Toph said, mouthful of steak. “You don’t mean that” I said, returning to my main course. She laughed. “Hey, your cousin’s pretty cute and Sokka’s got some intense-” I held my hand up to her mouth. “Shush, Katara might be nearby and might be _ moody _ ” I said, all serious. Of course, it backfired. “You’re right, she _ might _ be nearby!” Toph chewed even louder on her steak, spitting grease out and onto me. 

Suki returned, pulling Sokka by the ear. “Ow” She bowed. “Your Majesty, I believe Sokka owes you an apology”. He walked forward, disappointed, with arms slumped in front of him. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, for wasting Suki’s time by trying to…” he turned around to face Suki, who shook her head, I meanwhile _tried_ to maintain a scowl, “...trying to make out with her instead of letting her return to duty” he breathed out deeply, turned around and slumped off. Then I broke into laughter. “Poor guy” I said, feeling _ so _ bad for him.

Next morning, Ming awoke me for my morning rituals. I got dressed in my Imperial Autumn Robes and set off for the Earth Shrine. Reaching the thousand steps, I saw something...new. The predawn twilight revealed this gigantic metal object sitting in the Inner Courtyard. Descending the stairs and walking alongside it, it was the length of five trucks. The barrel extended another three truck lengths and the vehicle was as wide as a truck. The soldiers explained this was a half-sized model, fully operational. It was so thin as it would be transported by railline. A hundred Royal Metalbending Guards took ten hours to build it according to schematics. I had a guard run to Her Imperial Majesty’s bedroom and tell her, and I quote, “the giant fuckoff cannon is ready”. 

Ten minutes later, Toph emerged, screaming “let’s do this!” clad in her nightrobe. The guards barely managed to bow properly. Some of them outright fell over. A minute of sliding and earth waves later, she was standing next to me. “Okay, so walk up to this giant tube and punch it?” she asked, chest-to-face with an sweaty Satoru. “Yes” he responded, falling back asleep in his chair. Four guards handed her a massive, her sized artillery projectile. Toph walked up to a tube twice her width. The massive iron behemoth adjusted its angle, screeching as it went halfway vertical.

She placed the projectile inside, Toph rooted her stance and breathed in and out a few times. "Got it!" she blew my eardrums out then _ Bang! _ and everyone's eardrums blew out. It flew out the massive tube, causing the Palace Grounds to shake.

“Toph, you rule!” and she shook her wrists.

Somewhere near Lake Laogai, the pine forest echoes the predawn chorus of birds waking up for a new day. Two Dai Li agents are probably dragging some Fire Nation spy towards his final resting place in Lake Laogai. If he's lucky, he'll get a new life as a Earth Kingdom spy, destined to return to the Fire Nation and demoralize the unstable regime even further.

Well he might've if the morning wasn't interrupted by a massive bang, earthquake and quick realization that "there was a mountain over there". Being a rational man, he probably confessed all his secrets right then and there, hoping to save his homeland, a fishing village on one of the Fire Islands from being wiped from existence.

Hey, I did tell Katara running a Kingdom isn't easy. Not my problem she's so idealistic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huang is a reference to Ying Zheng, or as he's more commonly known, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. He unified the Warring States to form the Qin Dynasty. It only lasted 15 years, but set the groundwork for the next two thousand years of Emperors. 
> 
> The Siege Cannon will be returning for The Final War. Everything will, actually. 
> 
> Next chapter, a misunderstanding (or is it) leads the Consort to go on a tour of the Colonies.


	46. A Trip in Disguise

HIM Entry XLVI:

At the orders of Her Imperial Majesty, I was to travel the Colonies.   


Leaving for the Colonies:

Morning Edict time rolled around, the same day as the test firing. Toph was quite elated at her new Siege Cannon. As I sat on the Consort Throne waiting for the Ministers to arrive to dish out and argue about new edicts, four Dai Li members surrounding the Grand Secretariat arrived. They were light on their feet, ran in and put their fists to the ground. Han spoke up. “Urgent information for Your Majesty!” The only people in the room were Her Imperial Majesty, I and the fifty or so Royal Guards on guard. “Go ahead” Toph said, roused from her sleep, dressed in her wrestler outfit. Han stood up.

“Our spies report that the Avatar and Prince Zuko are in talks about, and I quote, ‘bringing Fire Nation citizens back home.’” Toph shot up and off her chair, turning red. “And on what authority is he to do that? Zuko isn’t the Fire Lord, Azula is. And the Colonies are  _ my land _ . Did they mention requesting an audience with me?” Han shook his head, anger contorting his face. “No, Your Majesty. They were planning to take Fire Nation citizens back to the Fire Nation, Colonial or otherwise.” Now it was my turn to get angry. “I assume they think the war’s over? He has no authority. Do we wish to engage them personally?” I turned to Her Imperial Majesty, waiting for an answer. “Hey Kyoshi, you somehow traveled while in hiding, right?” I nodded. "And you like the Colonies, right?" I nodded. "Go tour them while I deal with Twinkletoes". If the people do want to return to the Colonies, the best way to find out would be first-hand knowledge.  


I summoned Suki to the Imperial Bedroom. “Well of course I’ll go with you”. The Dai Li brought us clothes they had obtained from various Colonials tailors in Ba Sing Se. I changed into a red kimono and green pants. Suki changed into a dress with a red overshirt. I swapped my Imperial eyepatch for a regular one. However, I kept my eyepatch wrapped up in a small bag I was carrying along. It also contained a white lotus tile,  _ just in case _ . She left her fans behind, opting for daggers. I went with a simple jian and scabbard. She had her hair done in a ponytail, as I had mine in a topknot. We said our goodbyes to the Royal Guard and set off for the train. No longer His Imperial Majesty and His Imperial Majesty’s Personal Bodyguard, just two siblings. Well, cousins, but siblings sound easier. Appa wasn't in his pen, meaning the Avatar wasn't around. Probably on a finding-oneself-with-tea trip. Probably much more interesting than _touring some_ _Colonies_. Suki had a note left behind on the Guest House’s door, telling Sokka that she was joining me for a tour of the Eastern Earth Kingdom. _We don't need the Avatar to randomly appear and cause more antics_. The gigantic Siege Cannon took up much of the Inner Courtyard, the barrel lowered to resting position. 

We left the Outer Gates, the guards giving one last slight bow. At my request, we’d have Dai Li following us, some incognito, some not. It would’ve been a simple twenty minute walk to the monorail but Suki reminded me that “your face is plastered everywhere”. And she’s not wrong. While disguised me has a jian scabbard on the opposite side, I have the same auburn hair and figure. And people have seen me walking around here. We skirted the main axis road and opted for back alleys. Which, in the Upper Ring, means regular sized streets. And walking down a side street, posters of Toph and I were all over. Recruitment ads with our faces on it. Even in the middle of the day, I saw children looking up at the posters going “I want to fly!” and other such things. We also had to skirt around patrols. Now, the Royal Guard could've spotted me, but I didn't want attention being raised.   


It felt really weird having to sneak through my own home. All it took was one eyepatch being raised and the ground itself would part for me, but no. I followed Suki’s advice. Better to be stealthy. As we had multiple squads of Dai Li coming with us, we weren’t exactly alone. Two men would follow us a couple house lengths behind, others would take the adjacent streets. I knew which two men were following us. They looked like twins, probably weren’t, wore different clothes. One wore red over green, the other green over red. One had his hair done in a queue, one didn’t have his hair done up. 

We had to also make sure not to do anything overly suspicious, like openly discuss “learning the truth about the colonies” because while, officially, the Earth Kingdom’s policy was “we do not arrest without cause”, ask the hundreds of people currently locked up for plotting against the Queen. Assassins, their contacts, their aides. People in the Upper Ring, especially, were quick to summon the Dai Li. A simple accusation could get out of hand, fast. Call it a holdover from the Dai Li run days. We don’t do brainwashing, no, but we arrest lots of people. Especially during the days when we’d have an assassin every other day attacking us. 

The one thing we didn’t have to worry about was money. When we got to the station, the two men behind us passed us and bought four tickets for the train. We got on, showed them our tickets, and relaxed. Once we got to the Colonies, Suki and I would use the disguise names of Aoki and Naruhito. The rest of our assigned Dai Li escorts were on the same train. 

Journey to the Coast:

Of course, the one thing we didn’t plan for was a trainfight. While they never happened in my presence, anywhere, as the Royal Guards were quick to arrest and quicker to kill, the rest of the Earth Kingdom wasn’t so fortunate. All it takes is one person to insult someone else, or invade their personal space. Us Earth Kingdomers don’t have the Fire Nation’s honorable Agni Kais. If there’s one thing we take more seriously than fighting tournaments, it's the war. Oh, and there's nothing stopping outright murder. Call it a holdover from the time just a few months ago when villages remained isolated. In the case of when we were on the train, hearing someone go “you spit on the graves of all those that died at-” was enough to make the Dai Li get  _ closer _ to us. And because Suki and I were dressed like Colonials, this angry gruff man with an untamed beard came over to us and tried to grab Suki, and  _ regretted it _ . 

As he leaned forward for the grab, I told him, “you might not want to mess with my sister” but he went for the grab anyways. Suki gripped his ears, pulling him in and kneed him quite hard. He let out a loud yelp and quickly turned to rage, pulling a knife. I popped up, drawing my blade. Suki, in counter, drew her own. He tried to swipe at her from the ground but she jumped over his blade and broke -or at least pinned- his wrist with her foot. At this point, the soldiers responsible for guarding the train had ran over. Didn’t matter.  _ Bang _ Suki knocked him out cold with another kick. Then she adjusted her dress and sat back down. I sheathed my blade and sat next to her. The rest of the crowd cheered Suki, “you go girl!” being the main compliment. I assume the reason being  _ none of them want to mess with her _ . 

Of course, the second most common thing people fight over is fighting competitions. Figures like The Gecko, The Hippo and The Boulder and known across the Earth Kingdom for their competing in dozens of competitions every year. Part of Toph’s massive public support comes from the fact she’s the Blind Bandit, “the greatest earthbender in the world, and don’t you forget about it”. And yet, fans of The Gecko and The Boulder would get into fights all the time. Because even with a massive war going on, someone else being a fan of a different wrestler warrants assault. At least this fight nobody bothered us about. Two guys exchanged a round of fisticuffs over the better fighter until a third guy, me, took a whiskey bottle and smashed it over one of their heads. “So you’re a member of the Boulder’s Breakers, eh?” this less gruff man asked, cheering. “I’m just maintaining the peace” and I dropped the remainder of the whiskey bottle and went back to sit down. 

Once you leave the Capital, there aren’t nearly as many train fights. Lots of Colonials get on in the Agrarian Zone, diluting the number of rockheaded rockers so the majority of the train is “you insulted my honor I’m going to save our fight until we both agree to meet at this field in the middle of nowhere”. Oh the honorable Fire Nation, they either politely wait for the next available appointment at the local Agni Kai ring or find the nearest empty piece of land and cowls. A correction: on our carriage there were only fifteen people or so, as opposed to a hundred squeezed together. Listening to others conversations, you’d hear people discuss work, family and new technology. Occasionally, you’d hear some gossip about us. In this case, Suki and I were giggling listening to five Colonial girls, going home to the Factories from the Imperial Earth Academy for Autumn Break, “I heard His Imperial Majesty secretly likes the color red” followed by fawning and “ooh tell me more!” “Well when he fought General Shinji, I heard that he said” and she made her voice deep and tried, badly, to sound like some gruff man “‘I really like your clothes, oh honorable foe!’” her voice returned to normal high-pitched ear piercing “and ever since then he has a collection of red Imperial Robes”. The rest of the girls ate this up. Suki and I tried not to lose our composure, but failed. I whispered to Suki “are they serious?” making Suki laugh even more, hiding the laughter by pulling up her shirt. “I...think...they are...Naruhito”. This attracted the attention of the fawning girls, making my eyes turn to saucers.  _ Oh...no _ .

“Why hello!” one of the girls said, waving. I slapped myself in the face. “Whatcha find so funny?” She said and Suki stopped giggling. “I...found your story about the Consort funny”. The storytelling girl, identified because her hair was tied back as opposed to the standard, let’s call it Azula-style, looked mortified. “But it’s truuuue!” she whined. Suki and I continued laughing. “I...you girls know that he wasn’t awake after the battle, right?” I said, instinctively. This brought back fun memories: extreme pain, Katara’s healing hands, Toph pouring whiskey down my throat and  _ something about seal blubber and Katara?  _ So how did the girls respond? Surprise. “Aw, but he’s the One-Eyed Badgermole! He’s so heroic!” and I can’t make this up, they got all dreamy. “Where is your source for this?” Suki asked, concerned about my cover. “Oh, we saw it in a theater performance”.  _ A theater performance _ . “What theater performance?” Suki asked, the girls shot her a  _ what-are-you-new-here _ look. “It’s called Of Badgermoles and Dragons...” I made a mental note to make a written note to then recite it to Toph to go see it with her, well maybe she can feel the actors acting, at some point. “...It’s still in production. It tells of the Consort’s mysterious backstory” and the storytelling girl became a fangirl. “You know, nobody knows his real name! Isn’t that spooky and mysterious?!?” I slapped myself in the face, again. “No. Why would that be mysterious? Earth Kingdom Royalty traditionally give up their names upon ascension to the throne.” Suki gave me a  _ stop-talking _ shoulder nudge. “Because it is! Anyways, it's a play about Her Imperial Majesty’s  _ awesome _ rise to power!" _Okay, so its a creative retelling of people who have no clue what happened telling other people what they think happened. What differentiates this from contemporary revisionist historians who argue that the Earth Avatar preceding Kyoshi was genocidal? _A different girl chimed in. "Not only is it a retelling, its an erotic retelling. Katara's a total-” At this point, I got up to retrieve some whiskey for myself.   


Seven drinks later, I went to sleep on the seats. Suki later informed me that because of my similar resemblance, except I was shorter and higher pitched than the One-Eyed Badgermole, the girls wondered if I’d like to be cast for the costar role in Of Badgermoles and Dragons.  _ Shorter? _ Suki rejected the offer for my sake. Not that they were in any position to ask, they were just curious. Then they asked if I was married. She explained that I was and that she was my sister and we were going to the Colonies to visit family. Suki is amazing. Thanks Suki. 

Many hours later, I woke up when we arrived at a junction. We had the option of going north, south or west to Yu Dao. This train happened to be going south to Gaoling, Suki and I concluded “might as well start south and work our way north”. The train emptied, save for all these Dai Li agents, quite bored. Despite being trained from childhood, Dai Li agents get bored too. Most pairs settled on playing tile games or Pai Sho as all trains carry Pai Sho tables. New faces got on. Craftsmen, wearing clothes dirtied by years of working, fixing, and repairing things. Minor nobility, coated in foreign perfumes of lavender and  _ spice? _ They were traveling south for various administrative reasons. They all had two guards at their flanks, each one seemed to try and one up the others. In the midst of this gaggle, soldiers. Two of them sat down next to us, both wore conical hats and both were barefoot. 

The trains, unlike the Imperial Palace, don't forbid bare feet. Excluding Toph, as she's Toph, and the Royal Guards, for earthbending purposes, all ministers and visitors are encouraged to wear shoes of some sort. Not here.   


“So Fong walks up the platform and goes” and the second cuts him off “let me guess” and he mimics Fong “Men of the sturdiest element! You are marching on a campaign of  _ annihilation _ ! You won’t be reinforced, you will be surrounded by guerillas instead. You have no hope of survival! Now let me punch the air and let’s go die for our Queen! For the Earth Kingdom! Long Live the Earth Queen!” and the first guy breaks into laughter. “That’s exactly what he said. And we all cheered him. I say you’ve never seen fun ‘till you just finished a desert march” and the two of them laughed.

Gaoling:

A few days of train riding -and only a dozen fistfights- later, we reached Gaoling. “Welcome to the birthplace of the 53rd Earth Queen!” a giant sign sat atop the city gates.  _ Because she’d definitely approve that _ . We finally departed from this train, making sure to check that we had our stuff and thanked the conductor. This was the last stop of the Ba Sing Se-Gaoling line, go figure. The Dai Li formed up, a couple with us and a couple in a loose blob behind us. Passing by the Beifong Estate, I saw a bunch of courtiers milling about. I can imagine how terrified Lao Beifong must feel right now. He deserves it. So I walked up to one of the Beifong guards. “How’s the Lord Beifong doing?” I said, bowing. Suki bowed with me, the Dai Li separated and acted like villagers wandering about. “He’s gone. Owns some industry out in the Colonies”. “Oh that’s terrible.” I said, pretending to feel bad. “What does he think of his daughter, the 53rd Earth Queen?” the guard stiffened up, preparing for a fight. “Oh, he ...has but the utmost respect for Her Imperial Majesty”. I didn’t need to be Toph to see the sweat beading on his forehead. “He ...wishes that Her Imperial Majesty a long and fruitful reign”.  _ Well if that doesn’t give away a plotter I don’t know what will _ . We departed him quickly, making sure to bow, and set off for the west. Turns out, there’s a train line, part of the North-South coastal line, that branches off and goes to Gaoling but hasn’t yet connected up with the Ba Sing Se-Gaoling line. We bought tickets for it and were off. Only three day’s train ride later, a trip that once took weeks by foot, was the grand, humble town of Shirahama. Last time I was here, I walked the opposite direction and had to circumvent the Great Swamp. “The greatest little city in the South” it read on its gates. Its gilded entrance ways are just as entrancing the second time through. 

Home Away from Home:

The train station brought us to the main road, the beachfront road. Metal railing lines the beachside edge. Descending a flight of stone stairs, I set off straight ahead. I had a place and a person to visit. I had the Dai Li separate and take to distant cover positions. This town center was tiny compared to the Colonial Palace. A two story house, once an inn. Next to it, guest houses owned by the Governor. The House was located adjacent to the docks. Along the way, we saw a tavern. The same elderly man was polishing glass bottles here as he was, oh, a year ago? The same wooden chairs sat, looking out at the waterfront. Sitting down at the chairs for a few minutes to catch my breath, a memory returned to me.

_ “Hey Commander Lee, what’s that?” I asked, hammered. Lee was more hammered, though. “Is that a flying cloud?” I asked, “Yes, it’s a flying cloud. Flying opposite the wind…” he said, as if such acts against the laws of reality aggravate him. The flying cloud halted, hovering in mid air while the flags next to us blew south. “Can it be shot out of the sky?” I asked, turning around to grab a drink. “Guards! Shoot that thing!” he yelled, I assume he pointed at the cloud. I turned around, two ales in hand, and saw a dozen fireballs, launched by the rest of his platoon, sitting along the waterfront, flying towards the cloud. Then the cloud dived towards the water. A loud splash followed. “Did...you just kill a cloud?” he asked, falling over himself. “Yes sir!” one of the men responded. A girl’s screams off in the distance made the guards and I laugh. The fallen cloud created a large wake, I think. “Why’s the water suddenly rocky?” I asked, about ready to fall over. “I hear when you kill clouds, the ocean spirit cries and gets moody." he said with utmost certainty. “Did that cloud give birth to a screaming girl?” I continued my train of thought. “They’ve been known to do that” _ . 

I continued down the path, reaching the town center. Knocking on the door, I was greeted by a middle-aged woman, dressed like a Fire Navy officer, who looked me over and cried. “It’s been too long...Your Majesty” and we hugged. Suki’s jaw dropped. “But...Naru...disguise!” and she tossed her hands to the side. I pulled out of the hug. “Suki, meet the Lady Ise” the woman bowed. “His Majesty and I watched Azula electrocute my husband months ago for failing to address her properly."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone growing up in a major city knows what trains are like. The train portion of the chapter is a nod to that.   
Fong's speech is a direct reference to a Warhammer 40K meme (https://imgflip.com/i/2f0ekk) but was actually meant to reference the Red Army. After all, why lay siege to something when you can launch a frontal assault and lose half your forces. Less people to pay. Less mouths to feed. 
> 
> Lady Ise of Shirahama, you'll learn about next chapter, has been the longest living ally of the incumbent Consort, having known him for a year and a half, at least, though they haven't met since he departed for Gaoling a year ago. Her bio is that she grew up in the Colonies, joined the Fire Navy as a young woman and rose through the ranks to become a officer. She met the future Governor of Shirahama during shore leave and they fell in love. She retired from the Fire Navy as an low-level commissioned officer to settle down with him and take up the mantle of Lady of Shirahama. She oversaw the garrison and military planning of the city's defenses while doing administrative tasks. 
> 
> Next time, an overview of the Colonies (before and after)!


	47. Shirahama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Join the Consort to see how the Colonies have changed and life has improved for all. Special guest: A ship.

HIM Entry XLVII:

“I’m sorry to hear that, Your Highness” Suki bowed. “I’ll tell you the story later” she turned to me, “would you like to come in for some tea?” she smiled. “Sure thing” I bowed in response. “Would you mind if my bodyguards joined us?” I asked of her. “That’s fine, but I don’t see anyone” she looked between Suki and I, we parted and let her get a view of the street. She looked at me with confusion while I gestured for my men to come hither. “Ise, meet my bodyguards” and two Dai Li agents bowed. 

Experiences in and around Shirahama:

Lady Ise made Suki familiar with the story of her late husband, Yozuke over some afternoon tea. Meanwhile, I was thinking back to the last time around I was here. A year before I met Toph, I came upon the Colonies looking for...I forgot now. I think Oyaji received a letter from the Lord of Gaoling, offering the status of becoming a Beifong in trade for a son who'd assist in joining our dynasty with theirs. Who would say no to becoming a Royal Scion? A member of the only major cadet branch from the house of the Earth Kings? Oh the irony. I traveled north through the Colonies by working as a temporary caravan guard. There's always an opening to becoming a caravan guard. Once I got to Shirahama, being the first large colony on my way north, I worked as a guard at the local garrison. The garrison is always looking for people. Long before I was the Slayer of Shinji and the One-Eyed Badgermole, I fought daofei. Usually a band of ten or so men would be waiting for some visiting noble’s caravan to pass then attack it. The job’s high pay came from the risk. All it took was one arrow. The following is the first memory that came to mind from this job.

  
We were given the job of guarding some low level minister from some town back on the 'Homeland' as he went from Shirahama to a frontier guardpost. He was so low level he wasn’t assigned garrison soldiers, he got us. Though we were members of the Colonial Militia, or that's what it said outside our barracks, we were given a one hour warning. We ate last night’s leftovers, some unnamed animal’s jerky. We put on our cuirasses and leather helmets, matching shades of brownish red. I know, a fearsome sight to behold. We all had our dao blades. Misaki took the front ostrich horse, she was a decent firebender. Some guy named Noriniga or something like that was the coach, and I was the coach guard. At least getting a bow means you are the second guy they kill after the coach. We also had two rearguards, a man and a woman, riding ostrich horses. 

We set out at midday out the southeastern gate. Thirty minutes of riding down a well trodden path with thick, burned, forest later, we came under attack. A small boulder separated the carriage from the horses. Misaki jumped off hers, punching towards the woods. I loosed an arrow into the first daofei that ran out of the woods, striking his head. The rearguards jumped off and engaged in close quarters combat with the bandits. Their short daos clashed with simple spears and jis. I slid off the right side of the carriage, ducking behind it to avoid another boulder. I ran around to the backside and saw one of the rearguards getting his head pierced with a ji. Jis are quite simple to use, but there's a reason they are called spear-axes. Either point can pierce armor, the axe-headed one can be used like a hammer to come down from above, penetrating the terrible quality leather armor we are given. Twang. An arrow into the ji-wielder. The male rearguard died, sure, but so did the bandit. The other rearguard won against his duel. I released another arrow into a bandit running out of the woods towards the carriage. Finally, bored of this long range nonsense, I unsheathed my dao and sliced some guy’s spear in two, driving the blade further down by slicing into his leg. I got headbutted by him while he fell over and got this look of surprise from him, so I smirked with a “maybe your leg doesn’t work, my thickheaded friend” look. I got back up, “thanks for saving my neck, Auburn!” from the not-dead guard, while Misaki toasted two people at once. The bandits all dead or roasting like a steak, the four of us -and guess who had to take the minister, me- took three ostrich horses and ran off to the fishing village. Of course, when we returned to Shirahama, Captain Oda told me “those arrows are coming out of your pay”. Hey, at least we got free whiskey. 

Ise got to the part where Yozuke and his staff, me included as I was his aide -guess all that training to be a leader wasn't for nothing, right Suki?- at that point, prepared for Azula’s arrival. We all got dressed in the best red robes we could find, the most ornate jian or dao scabbards and with the entire entourage of Yozuke joining him as opposed to when he'd travel around with just a few bodyguards. When she got off her Royal Barge 'of Partying and Eternal Glory', we bowed. People murmured “that girl...she’s the Princess?” but whoever did the murmuring was quiet enough to not attract her ire. She strolled up to Yozuke like she owned the place, well I guess she did, and he stood. “I am honored to welcome you to Shirahama!, Princess” Her gaze flipped from boredom of formalities to that’s mean and she screamed back at him “How dare you call me ‘Princess’ like I’m some girl?” and her hands lit up in blue flame. He begged for mercy, “I’m sorry, Your Royal Highness!” but she didn’t care. She grabbed his shoulder, a wave of blue flame encapsulated him, setting him alight. His body crumpled, twisted, before silencing with a foot smash to the chest.

  
Suki was in awe of all this, but considering what we’ve seen, wasn’t surprised. But that wasn't the whole story.

  
In a moment of "my boss just died, might as well try smoothing things over", I said "Long Live Her Royal Highness, Wielder of the Blue Flame!" and the crowd repeated it. I then looked back down at the tiled stones. Azula took one step to the left and stared me down. I shifted my eyes ever so slightly to see her but I only caught the bottom of her chin. I saw enough of her face to see it twist into that smile. Then she walked off and called for her Royal Palanquin.

  
Honored Guest of Shirahama:

Just as she did then, when I was a family friend of Yozuke’s, we stayed in the Guest House. We spent a few weeks here, maybe two months in total. By day, Suki and I appeared to be two villagers wandering about. By night, we’d meet with Ise and discuss political matters. The following is some of the many encounters and information I learned while there.

We’d walk around during the day and look at the town. It used to be much...redder. The Fire Nation flags atop the taverns, barracks and Town Center were replaced with the Colonial Flag, the red earth coin instead of the usual green. Most of the citizenry wore green and red, just like us, as opposed to being a sea of red with a few greens. The blacksmith industry was thriving as ever. As was the infrastructure. Thanks to the military government, that is, General Fong and Song are de facto rulers of the Colonies until they appoint their own officials, they’ve encouraged more earthbenders from rural parts of the southern Kingdom to move to the Colonies. There, they’ve found work in infrastructure, public works and construction. The town’s grown to twice its size, even if the northern section is mostly in progress and populated by more owlcats than humans. Meanwhile, the overwhelming presence of firebenders makes nightly strolls quite safe. Most Earth Kingdom towns and villages might have highwaymen at night, but not the Colonies. Shirahama is lit as well as the Imperial Palace and its not even the largest of the Colonies. Nonbenders aren’t missing out on this surge, either. A nonbender can wield an axe, hammer or scythe as well as any bender, and while a earthbender can build a house’s foundations, a nonbender works on the furniture and a firebender helps give it flare. 

Under Toph’s orders, a massive amount of Earth Kingdom money flows into Shirahama like the other Colonies. Instead of green earth coins, they are red. Ise has no idea what to do with half of it, as Toph’s edicts are quite vague, simply asking for more factories or a certain tank quota. A few entrepreneurs who ran the ore mines are now rich, as their ore goes straight to Shirahama’s own factories. Shirahama has little in the way of trade, other than exports, as they no longer ship ore and Earth Kingdom resources across the Mo Ce to the Fire Nation. Instead, it goes straight to nearby factories. Earthbenders take the ore apart, firebenders melt it and mold it en masse, and before you know it, metal. The metal goes one factory over, not one ocean over, and gets turned into whatever the quotas demand.

  
The old Colonies used to export all metals, gems and furs to the Home Islands. It was arduous. Aside from being guaranteed safe crossing courtesy of the "thousand ship" Fire Navy, they’d face heavy tariffs. The Earth Kingdom has no reason to have such high tariffs. Think about it like this; the Earth Kings will always be rich. Thanks to the Kingdom’s size, tax can be lower than the Fire Nation’s. And thanks to the terms of surrender, the Colonies pay even less tax than the rest of the Kingdom. As for exports, keep whatever resources you want. Give us factory output. So long as the Colonies never obtain independance, the Earth Kingdom will amass a mobilized army capable of defeating anything.

  
A large number of Earth Kingdom men and women go to work or school in one of Shirahama’s vocational schools or academies. This was the case in the past, as it still is. The Fire Nation cares about education. The schools might not as good as the Royal Academy for Girls or the Royal Fire War Academy, but many of these schools can grant a basic education to those who’d never get one otherwise. Whereas the Colonies push for both men and women to get a full education before life, the Earth Kingdom remains...the Earth Kingdom. Women in smaller villages, previously weeks travel from a big city, can get on the train and get here in a few days. Previously, they’d be destined for a life of childrearing and picking crops if nothing else while men leave their homes to find glory and a good pay in the Army. 

Speaking of train lines, while most of the Earth Kingdom remains without rail connections, the many villages that happened to be along the path of the main lines have boomed. Locals can get on a train, spend a week working in Shirahama, a week back home. The Earth Kingdom doesn’t have days off, the Colonies do. And thanks to Her Imperial Majesty’s desire to incorporate Colonial elements into her Kingdom, people have evermore reason to work in the Colonies. Move to Shirahama? You can work for a full quarter moon cycle then get a few days off. Live rural and commute? Week on week off. A week being defined as one quarter of the cycle of the moon. It drives people to move to Shirahama but if one doesn’t want to they don’t have to. Business owners who used to have no market for their goods, a shoemaker can only make so many shoes for his village, can now put their goods on one of the many cargo trains and sell it in Shirahama or other Colonies. The train comes every hour from dawn until dusk, every three hours after nightfall. 

Fashion has also changed. I mentioned greens and reds, but the influx of Southern Earth Kingdom style clothes has an effect. Guards here dress much like they do in Gaoling, except no hat and red instead of green. Lots of tailors have opened up stores for a variety of styles. Occasionally, you’ll see a green turban in the crowd. A trader, maybe just a civilian, from Omashu. With Gaoling a short hop away, many more formal robes feature floral motifs. They can be in red, green, or any mix. While red and green can’t mix like blue and green, they can act as contrasts. A common design is a bright green floral robe, akin to Toph’s original court clothes, with bright red flower patterns. Another design is a green tunic with red trim or vice versa. A large headband industry also exists. I first noted their use during Yu Dao’s assault, but here, a common garment for both men and women is a green headband with a red earth coin in the middle. Granted, whether people deliberately wear these headbands to associate with the men that died during the Comet or not, I don't know.

  
Most of the factories here line the coast. The old dockyards have been refitted into massive naval yards the likes of which have never been seen before in the world. The Earth Navy junks dock up and down the coast, two sometimes four to a wharf. Where there’s the navy there’s taverns. Where there’s tarverns there’s a flow of currency. Plus, there's always going to be pay for food, new weapons, and the officers need to buy trinkets from everywhere they stop. Metalbending still hasn’t arrived here. As such, hundreds of non benders work together to hammer out parts. Tanks and trucks are loaded straight from the factory line to the train line and sent north. Despite working day and night for months, only one ship was commissioned from Shirahama. 

It also happens to be the flagship of the Colonial Navy.

The IEN Kyoshijima is a work of art.

Personally ordered by the Mechanist to be laid down and constructed in the “ever loyal Colony”, it is the first Aircraft Carrier in existence. It wasn’t even originally built here, it was once an Empire Class Battleship, the Gekido. It just so happened to be docked here during the Conquest. The tower was sliced off and a smaller cruiser tower was strapped slightly to the side. The ship looked like a flat vista -with railings- and towered over the wharfs at five stories, the tower adding another three stories. Ise and my entourage, still incognito, were present to watch it be launched. A bunch of very important, very important, Earth Army officers who’ve definitely never sailed a boat and don't know their windwards from their leewards got up on a podium and gave speeches. “It was named in honor of His Imperial Majesty’s home, Kyoshi Island”. I’m honored. Now please learn that Kyoshi Island is a land of fishers who would probably be insulted by a lack of sailing jargon being used here. They explained that it carried twelve biplanes and took so long -three, maybe four months is long?- to build due to the ship needing to be rebuilt from the third story up. Quarters needed to be put somewhere, for instance. The bridge was kept above the deck via the cruiser’s tower. The rest of the docks worked day and night, repairing damaged junks and building parts for the carrier. These twelve biplanes would carry the same bombs the zeppelins carried. The ship’s sides included small defensive positions, fortified earth disc ammunition in various spots. The ceremony involved some anthem singing -stuff like "the lands of those who have endured all" and "the eternal Kingdom of Ten Thousand Years"- and Lady Ise smashing a whiskey bottle, “in honor of His Imperial Majesty’s favorite drink” on the bow. The carrier blew some kind of horn and set off for the Yu Dao dockyards. 

  
The End of an Era:

There’s lots of hatred towards Ozai and Azula here, and not just because of “Remember Yu Dao”. Asking Ise, I heard that the Fire Nation’s own Princess turned Fire Lord spends much of her days in her Royal Palace. “She hasn’t come out since she received a certain Fire Lord’s head, catapulted into Caldera”. She says that “the High Generals run the Fire Nation”. Going to a local tavern in the evening, I heard people curse her name. Is she actually crazy? I wouldn't bet on it, I for one think she's far more clever than she'd let on. It helps that, as part of the military occupation, lots of propaganda posters went up.

Most of them were the same that I mentioned in previous chapters, biplanes attacking zeppelins, anti-aircraft, the like. There were also some new ones, and thanks to the standardized printing press, they are posted across the Colonies. They feature Colonial soldiers, on ships, in biplanes, marching forward, always in the foreground of the image. In the background, the artistic liberties taken drawing of Sozin’s Comet, with either Ozai or Azula’s silhouette. Ozai is breathing his three flames, disguising his figure. Azula is coiling a lightning shot, her eyes illuminated as the lightning charges up. Some have subtitles, some don’t. It worked. I was speaking to Suki in the middle of the street one day, while enjoying lunch, and I brought up Yu Dao before the attack. Almost as if on instinct, a passing civilian who heard this chanted “Never Forget Yu Dao!” and punched the air. The entire street erupted in repetitions of this and “Always and onwards” and other phrases.

Ise explained that a massive rise in patriotism towards the Earth Kingdom, specifically towards Her Imperial Majesty, rose after Yu Dao. “The moment we heard the news, hundreds of citizens, blood boiling, took the next train north to sign up. We wanted vengeance for our sister city? No. We wanted to annihilate the Fire Lord and be the vanguard to do it.” Later on during a conversation on the Colonial Corps, she mentioned that “the Earth Kingdom’s anthem is often heard in the street. We will never forgive the Fire Nation for this tragedy.” Her opinions were repeated across the city, it seems. One day, Ise received a letter from the Fire Nation, marked with a Royal Seal.

To all Fire Nationals and Loyalists across the Phoenix Empire, 

Due to Fire Lord Azula’s refusal to hold any forms of meetings, and her outbursts in her quarters, the High Sages believe Her Royal Highness to be too unstable to rule. We believe, with Her Royal Highness’s failure to rule, that the line of Fire Lords has been corrupted. Agni has punished the Line of Sozin for the dishonorable traitors Iroh and Zuko.

  
Henceforth, the Fire Lord’s position will be reduced to a ceremonial status. The various Ministers report to His Highness, Shogun Bujing. Any and all documents addressed to the Fire Lord are to be addressed as follows: To His Highness, the Shogun, Protector of the Fire Islands

  
Signed, His Highness, the Shogun

We inquired as to why there were so few soldiers about. Back under Fire Nation rule, the Colony was teeming with soldiers. Ise has explained that most Colonies have followed a trend. Instead of having Earth Kingdom garrisons all over, General Fong encouraged a militia “to allow the Colonies to have a self accountable force of civilians”. The downside to this is the Colonies appear quite demilitarized. Earth Kingdom outposts exist, fortifications right up to the sea, like Fong's own Fortress that's in the process of expanding to build large dockyards, but otherwise the Colonies seem ripe for insurrection.

And that’s what happened. Half a day ago, to be precise.

I was in the marketplace at the time, looking at the Kyoshi Island inspired blue clothes. Thin garb to be worn as undershirts. “Made in honor of His Imperial Majesty’s home”. Clearly, these tailors have seen actual Kyoshian clothes, as their mimics are spot on. Well, the real Kyoshian clothes are thicker. A few loud horns broke the regular chatter of the market, and civilians ran off to the north, towards the town center. The vendor, a middle aged man bearing a topknot wearing his own wear, ran off with them. Clothes fell, food dropped, jars smashed, stands toppled in a stampede. Quickly, the street emptied and I was left alone. 

Running after the crowd, and working my way through it courtesy of the Dai Li, I came upon the town center’s courtyard, Ise standing from the balcony. She announced that the militia are to be called to arms, all northbound trains have been closed for public use, and that Osaka has fallen to rebels. Osaka is the second largest Colony, right behind Yu Dao, and it’s not far north of us. 

The militia are to remain inside the city, on high alert. Messenger hawks have been sent to Fong and Ba Sing Se requesting aid. The name or affiliation of the insurgents hasn’t been identified. The Colonial Corps detachment has been assigned to travel north to try and pin the city down until the Imperial forces arrive. 

And I’m joining them, somewhat. Ise approved of the idea to “try and get inside” and sent us off with some tea and a toast to the “Oncoming golden age under Her Imperial Majesty!”

As I write this on the northbound train, Colonial soldiers cheering for some action, I overheard the arrival of a messenger hawk bearing news. An officer announced it to the train.

  
“Her Imperial Majesty has acknowledged the threat these rebels pose, rest assured the full might of the Imperial Army is to be brought to bear on this pitiful rebellion”

“Imperial Commander, General of the South, the esteemed Fong, will be leading regiments from the Imperial Army to reclaim Osaka”.

Ah, yes. Fong. The man who is reputed to need a hundred earthbenders to take down one firebender because "frontal assaults always work", and as he's one of the few remaining, living, Earth Kingdom Generals that get results, we keep him around.

Let's infiltrate Osaka, kill whoever runs this group of rebels, and get out before Osaka becomes Taku with more craters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, the infiltration of Osaka! Meet the rebels and their various Life of Brian references! 
> 
> Notes, mostly historical references:
> 
> Why spend so long here? Its the best 'template' Colony, as its the only city or town to keep its former ruler as opposed to a military government. 
> 
> Is Azula crazy? Think of this version of Azula as Sozin's Comet Azula, only now her last ally, her abusive dad, got his head mailed to her in a box. Even if she isn't crazy, she's lost all her friends.   
The IEN Kyoshijima is based on early Interwar carriers, specifically the Hosho ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_H%C5%8Dsh%C5%8D ). IEN is akin to the IJN. Kyoshijima means Kyoshi Island in Japanese, and while no IJN carriers were named after Islands (e.x. no Shikoku, Kyushu, Honshu or Hokkaido), I think the naming convention would fit.   
Going forward: ships in the world of Avatar are named differently depending on the Nation. The only two I've settled on so far are IEN and RFN. Junks were named after villages, forests, etc. RFN cruisers are named after towns, light cruisers named after villages, mountains, etc. Future IEN battleships, dreadnoughts, aircraft carriers, aka flagships, will be named after regions (like Kyoshi Island, Omashu), unless a certain blind girl wants a battleship named after her in which it'll be named after her. 
> 
> The concept of a Shogun is a reference to the Sengoku Jidai specifically, the Warring States equivalent in Japan, in which warlords fought over Kyoto, with the Tokugawa Bakufu (Shogunate) eventually rising up and taking over at the Siege of Osaka.  
Osaka is a reference to the city in Japan where many sieges, including the final battle of the Sengoku Jidai ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Osaka) was fought between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideoshi. In this case, the final battle of the Colonial War will be fought here.


	48. Osaka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Osaka, city under siege! Join the Kyoshian duo as they meet the rebels holding the city.

HIM Entry XLVIII:

Try infiltrating, they say. It’ll be enjoyable, they say. 

Arrival:

The train stopped at a military depot south of Osaka. No formal greetings. No wave of soldiers cheering. A hundred or so Earth Kingdom soldiers manning an outpost, now being filled with a thousand Colonial Corpsmen and Corpswomen. We had a great overlook of the city, all things considered.

Suki and I, still dressed in our disguises, had the Dai Li get us inside the city. Osaka looked just like Yu Dao pre-bombing and pre-expansion, except smaller. Parts of the city glowed with firelight. Neighborhoods were in rubble. Red shingles gave way to flames. A massive moat was dug around the city and filled with things on fire. The Dai Li burrowed underneath and had us pop up in the middle of _ some _ neighborhood, inside a house that looked recently used with furniture turned over. The smell of ash and death was nearly as pungent as a good steak going to waste. Footsteps clattered about. I had the Dai Li separate to “distant” positions. Just as they vanished, covering the hole, three girls and two guys barged in the front, pitchforks in hand. They were dressed like farmers wearing crude rusted helmets. Suki got into a defensive stance, I unsheathed my jian. “Who are you?” I asked, holding the blade at ready position next to my head. “We’re members of His Highness Kung’s Private Militia”. 

_ What in the name of Agni? _

The Noble Rebels Peoples’ Private Militia:

Sheathing my blade, they asked “Who are you?” to which I stated that “I own this domicile”. They planted their pitchforks in the dirt and bowed, apologizing for “invading your property by accident”. I began looting this house and found some food inside the pantry. It helped that it was early morning, so the sun shone in through the pantry’s windows. “Care for some crackers?” I pulled some out of a cabinet with all the arrogance of actually owning the place. One of these men bowed and received a single cracker, eating it. I offered Suki and she took one, walked off upstairs, and made mouth noises to convince them she was eating it. They asked if we were siblings or married or if not. We stated that we were married to play it safe. They believed us and sat down on a straw covered stone bench. They explained that Kung was a noble who escaped “capture by the Usurper’s Dai Li”. For whatever reason, he ended up here and usurped the officer running an interim military government. On “his epic journey here”, I’m sure it was quite epic and not just a guy walking to a city, he roused a couple thousand angry peasants who were happy to follow this noble but not world-ending Toph because populist reasons. He controls most of the city, “but one day will control it all”. He seeks to run a free city autonomous of the Earth Kingdom where the nobility doesn’t have such heavy restrictions. _ That sounds pretty attainable, oh wait no it doesn't... _“What does Kung think of other groups?” I asked, eating some jerky I pulled out of my shirt. “Oh, Kung hates the Protectorate, considers them bad men, but he hates the Usurper even more. He believes in obtaining peace with the Fire Nation”. 

We didn’t have time to chat, however, as a completely different mob of people was marching down the street, screaming for Kung’s head. These five plucked their pitchforks, ran out, and got into a fight with them. Suki and I casually walked up to the window and watched about ten people get killed by pitchforks and kitchen knives. The remaining one survivor ran off and two people knocked on our front door. Opening it, they asked “would you be interested in joining the Protectorate?” _ Since when did... _

The Protectorate Chapter of Osaka:

I explained, as well as I could, that I “am but the owner of this domicile”. Surprisingly, they didn’t _ all _ storm into my house. Just one person barged in, asking to search it, while the rest of his band chased the survivor down the street. Like his fellowmen, he was wearing a beige sash around his waist. Nonetheless, he was an unwelcome guest to our house. So Suki saved me the honor and plunged a dagger through his back. I walked outside and waved over two Dai Li agents who happily helped hide the man’s body in the backyard. Leaving my house, ordering the Dai Li to retreat back to distant positions, Suki and I walked down the street. 

The band of men returned, asking where their friend was, to which we shrugged. They explained that “even while the Usurper may have crushed Hong, his memory lives on forever!” and chanted things like that. They were just like the real Protectorate, formed by some survivor of some massacre’s second cousin’s half brother or something. They again asked if we’d like to join them, so we accepted. Suki and I then turned around, went back to our house, and barred the door. We had the Dai Li stay on watch. Meanwhile, Suki and I scoped the rest of the building out and it _ was _ devoid of sleeping individuals or yet to be removed corpses. We treated ourselves to the “this temperate joke of alcohol”, wine, as it was the only stuff we could find. 

So we have the Protectorate and Noble Rebels, what next. In the distance, horns sounded. 

The Osakan People’s Independence Movement:

The front door isn’t supposed to sustain so much banging. Correction: I have no idea how much it’s supposed to sustain. Someone _ really _ wanted our year old crackers. Opening the window and sticking my head out, I saw a headband wearing girl holding a bow and arrow. “What political movement are you a member of?” I asked. “I run the Osakan People’s Independence Movement” and she spat on the ground. “Why are you a teenage girl?” I voiced what I was thinking. “I’m actually fifteen and this here is my band of warriors!” _ Oh Toph no _ . Suki stuck her head out as well and giggled seeing a variety of people, about ten in number, dressed in all kinds of clothing. People in blues next to people in yellow but always multicolored. Fire Nation armor was quilted together with Earth Kingdom garb. Lots of quilting and patchwork clothes. “Are those patches...deliberate? Because last time I checked nobody got holes shaped like an arrow piercing an earth coin”. A different woman waved her hands. “Oh, I made them. That’s our logo! Isn’t it cool?” Suki tapped me on the shoulder, pulled me in and muffled her laughter by pressing her face against my chest. I stuck my head back out. “Yes...it's great. Why do you exist and what are your plans?” I said, sounding like a bored vendor stuffer who’s worked the same job the past forty years. “Oh, we plan on attacking the Earth Army with the power of a good team! Mere soldiers stand no chance against the fight for what’s right!” Suki didn’t hide her laughter this time, nor did I. “Aren’t you all supposed to be in school, or something?” I tapped my chin. She nocked an arrow. “Aren’t you supposed to be quiet?” I slapped my face. “Well, good luck with that!” and some random person in a nearby alley yelled “thanks!” One of these members, dressed in Fire Nation clothes with a blue dyed helmet, blew a horn. Out of some of the houses along the street, a wave of people. “This is the fight of our lives, boys and girls, let’s go!” and the blue helmeted guy blew the horn again. “That’s a lot of people” Suki murmured. I nodded. “Now, you want to watch them get slaughtered?” I smiled. _ You know I do_. 

The Osakan People’s Independence Movement’s First Battle:

Running after this tidal wave, that’s over exaggerating. Running after this calm wave during low tide as they ran down the main road, we reached the walls as they opened the gates and ran out to open field. Most of the city’s houses had large holes in the walls, not to mention the massive potholes along the main path. Rubble and furniture was everywhere. We could see the girl, at the head of the group, distincty because she was wearing a multicolor headband. I think she was screaming about defeating the Earth Army. We reached the battlements and looked out.

Two lines of artillery trucks sat facing away from the city, tubes pointing at standard halfway vertical angles towards the city. Facing away allowed the tubes to lower to near horizontal levels. In front of the trucks, a double trench line, being expanded by earthbending as we speak, running from one end of the trucks to the other. Hundreds of heads popped out of the ground, eyeing this team of “heroes”. A single man, the garb of a general, stood atop a green Tundra Tank located behind the trucks. _ Fong _ . The hundred or so members of the group were lined up outside the moat, taunting the Earth Army. Fong made his voice nice and boomy, yelling “Turn around, civilians, and we _ won’t _ bury you under a rockalanche!” I looked over at Suki, watching in amazement, and said “we should probably get as far from here as possible” and she nodded. We ran south along the battlements for a few hundred feet. _Far enough_. Looking over from here, we clearly saw the teenage girl at the head of the group. “She does know they are all soldiers, right?” Suki asked, trying not to laugh. “Do you think she knows that soldiers in _ armies _ tend to go through basic training?” I asked, actually laughing. “Nope” and she joined me. The quiet air made way for a really, really, stupid act. 

A single _ twing_, the girl loosed an arrow. It landed not even halfway from her and the forces maybe a mile out. Suki and I froze. "Oh she did _not _just-" "Yes, she did." and we both broke into laughter. Fong pointed at this blob of _ tightly packed _ freedom fighters from atop his overlook. We could barely hear his screaming while his arm was outstretched. The artillery pieces lowered their tubes to be nearly horizontal, adjusting aim so they point at the gatehouse. The teenage bandit leader copied his pointing, and had her force charge them. “They aren’t getting into loose formation” I yelled, almost as if I was on their side _ since this seems quite unfair_… A horn blasted. Stone projectiles the size of bricks launched from the pieces and went right into the blob, tearing through them as a scythe cuts down wheat. _ It may be unfair but it’s immensely satisfying_. 

Their sorry excuse for an independence movement faced the harsh reality of _ artillery_. And they died. Suki and I were caught, spears to our backs, by a _ different _ movement. “Now who are you?” I asked, at this point quite tired of these movements. “The People’s Liberation Movement of Osaka”. Suki slapped her face. “Didn’t you just run outside?” we turned around and faced the leader, a man dressed like a farmer with a straw hat strung around his neck. “No”. 

The People’s Liberation Movement of Osaka:

We volunteered to go back with them towards the, ahem, “correct” “People’s” organization. They were singing songs about casting off the “evil monarchs of the world” or something, I have no idea. So this group, also dressed like peasants, explained that they were trying to liberate Osaka from the Earth Kingdom and give it back to the Fire Nation, or something. I don’t remember. They hate one monarchy and love another? What do they think a completely different monarchy is like? Do they know? No. They had lots of whiskey in their compound, an old barracks. Their gathering house was quite filthy, clothes and empty bottles strewn about. The leader, a man who’d only address us while wearing a sash around his face, asked if we’d like to join. We accepted, turned and left. We ran back towards the city gates. A horn sounded, a green mob emerged from somewhere. 

The Earth Kingdom Loyalists:

Clad in greens, lead by a man in officer garb, the large band of men and women ran towards our spot. The man was of early-middle age, a few hints of grey amidst his black one-pointed beard and his hair done up in an officer's cap with pin. They waved Earth Kingdom flags and were armed with spears and daos. The lead officer unsheathed his jian and pointed at me. In a moment that really could’ve killed me, I yelled “Dai Li, get over here!” The lead officer’s eyes went wide as my bodyguards jumped down from the nearby rooftops and put their fists to the ground. The mob behind him likewise halted in shock. “Who are you?” the officer barked. I reached into my pocket, pulling out the eyepatch and held it while one of the Dai Li men got up and bowed to him. “That’s His Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Consort, the One-Eyed Badgermole., the-" I stopped him "Enough”. The officer looked me over. There aren’t that many auburn haired men wandering the Earth Kingdom. I watched his expression go from _ I-don’t-believe-you _ to _ oh to __Oh I'm so dead_. Seeing the eyepatch in my hand, he sheathed his blade and kowtowed immediately. “Forgive me Your-” but I cut him off. “No need, you’re right to be wary”. 

I asked the officer to “keep it down, we got rebels around,” he nodded, and the mob surrounded us like a human fortification. Lots of “what are you doing here”s were exchanged. He was quite confused, as reports said I was in the Eastern Earth Kingdom on tour right now. I was quite confused, “why is an officer of the Imperial Army trapped in Osaka?” His story was thus: Two weeks ago, the noble Kung walked through the city gates, dressed like a regular peasant. This officer, a young man named Yizhu, was assigned as military attache to the vacant interim governor -as he was already high up in Osaka's former garrison- while the Colonial government was being established. Kung had obtained a large peasant following by handing out his wealth to the masses. One morning, about a week ago, the entire city was attacked simultaneously by thousands of loyal peasants. Most of the primary targets were guard positions. Horns deafened the city. As per the Earth Kingdom rules set in place for “should a peasant rebellion arise”, all loyalists were to retreat to the docks. 

A disaster quite similar to Black Sun ensued. Guards fought valiantly while civilians fled. The Navy’s two stationed junks were overflowing. As the mob closed in, people took rowboats. Most of the guards were killed. Many more civilians were stranded across the city, unable to flee in time. Yizhu stayed behind as “so long as one of my men stays, so shall I”. For the past week, he used the chaos of a dozen different rebel groups running around the city to rally loyalists. Just now, he planned on marching on this movement we just visited. 

A side effect of Kung’s takeover was that lots of underground movements came to the spotlight. In the vacuum of no government/lack of government, independence groups and Fire Nationals rose out of their tunnels and seized parts of the city. Good news, few innocent civilians remained in the streets. Bad news, most innocent civilians have been killed over the past few weeks. In response, I informed him that General Fong had arrived. The crowd cheered. Before we could continue, a counter mob of white-sheet wearers arrived. 

Street Fighting:

A man on an ostrich horse arrived behind me, wearing a white bed sheet for a cape. “In the name of His Highness, surrender or be exterminated!” _ Oh I don’t think so _. Yizhu looked to me, I yelled “I hate formalities!” and charged the ostrich horse rider. The rest of the mob cheered and joined the charge. The Dai Li were quick to plant two rock gloves in him, pulling him off his horse. A small boulder flew out of a side alley and came down upon this officer. A Dai Li agent dropped back down from a rooftop to inform me that a whole mob was behind him. I yelled out “spear wall!”...and the mob packed together and formed a spearwall. 

The Dai Li helped Suki and I up to a nearby rooftop where I could watch the battle well. Yizhu joined us with an earth pillar. “So are none of them benders?” I asked. Yizhu shook his head. “What would a earthbender gain out of him? He preaches for the destruction of all benders.” _ Oh _. Our mob of greens had successfully made a forest of spears. They blocked up the entire street. And if someone gets through the first spear line, they’ll be impaled on the second. Thankfully for us, the rival mob chose to wear white bed sheets for capes. A logical choice, otherwise this fight would be ridiculous. Yizhu was easy to identify, he wore the conical hat of an Earth Kingdom officer. And I’m of auburn hair. We stood up here for a minute, watching the carnage. One civilian tried grabbing two spears to hold them open and got impaled with a third from the second spear line. Another civilian successfully cut off a spear with an axe, only for another spear to fall down and jam him in the face. A small team of white capes pressed through the spear lines and were cutting into the main battle line. One of them struck a male spearmen down only for a female wielding a dao to cut his head off. 

We had something they didn’t. Benders. Yizhu yelled out “Mixed Assault Formations!” and the spearwall broke. As they retreated down the street, earthbenders formed a large earthwall, closing it as the last of the spearpeople retreated. From there, the white capes were powerless. From an alley on the left, however, a squad of white capes came running. “Left!” I called out. Five earthbenders pulled earth discs out of the ground and punched them at the squad, hitting them in the faces and chests. Yizhu dived off and called the benders to form up on him. Nonbenders took to their positions behind the earthwall. Most of them were looking up at me and my bodyguards. It was then that I noticed that many of the non benders were armed with crossbows. They were in two columns. The spearwall stood in front, four men thick and fifteen wide. Behind them, a line of crossbows, two men thick, ten men wide. Even more non benders were amassed in an unorganized mob behind the crossbows. I didn’t see Yizhu emerge but a large earth pillar came flying out one of the sidestreets down the road and hit one absolutely unfortunate man in the face. The white capes turned towards the pillar and charged the alleyway. Earth discs crashed into their flanks while fire blasts set their capes alight. I heard Yizhu scream “Pike and Bolt!” and a pair of earthbenders, having stayed behind, smashed the earthwall into dust. The spearwall marched forwards and on the cue of a single peasant waving her dao, the entire spearline crouched. They still gripped their spears. Some white capes, not caught in the bender mix bowl, charged them. Twenty bolts -a fair approximation- whizzed over the spearline’s heads and with a loud set of _ thunks _ , capitulated the attackers. Bolts went right through their farming garb into their chests. Some took a bolt to the face. Some bolts passed the small team and hit white capes further down the road. Only one man from the dozen attackers survived, and that was because one of the bolts was caught in his cape. He dropped his pitchfork and ran towards the town center. A female firebender saw him and gave chase with fire-stepping off the ground, before punching a thin blast at him and setting his clothes alight. The screaming subsided. Seagulls cried out. Now that the battle was over, I could look out at the horizon. And looking out, I spotted _ something _ just as _ something _ let out a loud, echoing _tsungi horn_. 

The Bombardment of Osaka:

The entire crowd looked the same direction I did. The sea. A flat topped ship was docked off the coast. Next to it, five ships that looked just like Fire Navy cruisers. “Yizhu!” I called out, still watching the cruisers. He ran over and jumped up to the rooftop, sure to bow first. “Yes Your Majesty?” I pointed out at sea. “I believe that’s the Earth Navy”. He repeated that and the crowd cheered. “Get your men to the city gates, now!” and I grabbed him, shaking him. “Right away, Your Majesty”. He punched towards the mountains to our east, behind me, and the crowd ran that way. “Wave the flags when you get there!” I told him as he jumped off, following his crowd. 

_The tsungi sounded again_. Seagulls cried. Crows cawed. A small dot emerged from the flat topped ship. _ The Kyoshijima_. Then another. Then another. Then another. The four dots circled around the ship like flies around a piece of meat. Turning around, I watched the green wave exiting out the gates. Far in the distance, a stone-colored pillar came to a halt in the middle of the low, clear, foothills. The train. Turning around again, the four dots turned out to be four biplanes, and they were flying right towards us. “Orders, Your Majesty?” one of the Dai Li asked. “Let’s get to the coast”. While we ran for the coast, the Dai Li carrying me from rooftop to rooftop, the biplanes circled overhead like birds of prey. The houses were mostly wrecked. Thankfully, the prevalence of flat topped roofs made crossing the city easy. Circling and circling. Until one tipped its wings. 

Just as we reached a house right along the waterfront, the city shook violently. I had the Dai Li put me down and looked back at the city. An entire neighborhood was now a cloud of smoke. A biplane emerged from it, flying right over our heads. On the streets below, a mob of white-caped figures were running in all directions, carrying an assortment of farming implements and alcohol. Surely, an army that could conquer all. I spotted the other three biplanes, high above. One dipped its nose and dived towards the town center, a couple hundred feet off to the north. I watched the small black object detach from the aircraft and plummet towards the earth. Meanwhile, the aircraft pulled up and flew back out towards sea. _ Boom _. A blinding explosion followed by a shockwave and the ground quaking. Small particles flew in all directions out from the explosion, the black ball of smoke becoming a plume that climbed upwards before being caught by the sea wind and sent east over the city. The sun was eclipsed. 

A ship horn sounded, forcing me to turn left and face the sea again. The five cruisers were moored only a mile off. A fire blast emerged from the bridge of one, flying upwards. Small ants, clad in green and red, were running back and forth on the ships. From here, the front artillery piece seemed but the size of a metal tube. Meaning it was much larger. The five pieces pointed towards us. “The beach!” Suki yelled, as if she knew what was coming. The Dai Li grabbed me and dived down to the beach. As my toes tucked into the lightly packed sand, _ boom! _ Small stones pelted the yellow sand around us. Turning around, a massive black cloud. Five smoke pillars were rising. The four biplanes had returned to the _ Kyoshijima _ and were patterning around it. 

While we were all being coated by dust, Suki called out the bright idea “maybe get to the Imperial Army?” I agreed, and the Dai Li got to work grabbing us and carrying us across the rooftops. Two would grab each of us, the rest worked as a mobile patrol. As we crossed the city, again, the Imperial Artillery Corps was bombarding the northern part of the city. An individual projectile might be the size of a brick, sure, but a dozen of them will _ eventually _ destroy a wall. They must’ve assumed the defenders were some organized force. When the Dai Li brought us to ground, somewhere in the center of the city, we came under assault by a mob of peasants. Their flags were white with a brown boot. The Dai Li were quick to form a rotating earth wall around us. The peasants were happy to yell “in the name of the Osakan Peasant Rebellion!” as they attacked our earth wall with pitchforks and axes. “Hey Suki, care for some killing? I’ve grown bored without a fight”. She laughed. “Dai Li, engage!” I yelled out. _ Stomp _ . The earth wall flew out in all directions. The four houses within the vicinity of the earth wall were caved in. The rest of the wall flew up and down the street, plowing whichever zealous peasant _ really _ wanted to fight the power of the _ Earth _ Kingdom. Their screams confirmed their rebellion was short reigned. 

The Dai Li switched to rock gloves, Suki drew her knives and I drew my blade. I nodded in the direction of “that way” _ since I have no idea where we were _ and Suki and I took off. One Dai Li used his stone gloves to grab a man by his throat and toss him through a wall. Another grabbed a pitchfork wielder’s legs out and dragged him along the ground while a third finished him off with a fist. Two men jutted their spears at me. I grabbed one and tried to strike at the other. _ Clang_. Instead, my sword hit the spear and was blocked. But that’s exactly what I wanted. I simply slid the blade down the shaft and “I gotta hand it to you!” de-handed the man. He gave me this confused look as he lost his left hand. I took the spear I grabbed from the first man and clonked him on the head with it. A couple drunks, carrying bottles and knives, staggered towards me. Off to my side, Suki was elegantly dancing around a spearman before grabbing his hair and knocking him down with a leg swipe. “And that’s why you don’t grow long hair” she quipped. The Dai Li were running along walls, using their rock gloves to combine man with earth, man with earth pillar, man with man in a loud _ bang_, man with wooden wall and man with spear. 

As for the drunks? You know you’ve got an effective peasant rebellion when the drunks are your reserve. One guy chucked his bottle at me, I hit it mid air with a sword swing, making it rain glass on the poor man currently squirming around beneath me. Suki jumped up, catching a bottle mid-air and pitched it right back at the man. _ Bang_. “So that bottle was pretty sturdy?” she quipped. She was fending off a man who thought his hands were his feet and was crawling along the ground. A few head kicks did it. I halted and waited. One drunk finally snapped back to reality and charged me wielding a dagger. I stepped to the side, letting him fall over the squirmy guy and the _ slice _ no more head, no more problem. 

A Tactical Retreat:

The Dai Li finished off the drunks who emerged from the tavern, grabbed the boot flag and asked for further orders. I decided enough was enough and to follow Suki’s idea. They carried us to the city walls. As we traveled, more loud booms from behind us. The whirring of aircraft engines signified the Air Corps was bombing _ something_. Upon reaching the walls, we wondered “how do we signal them properly?” Suki, as always, came through with the idea. “Why not wave your hands and dance?” The Dai Li broke into laughter. I was too tired for this. But I did it anyways.

Never let it be said that His Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Consort, the One-Eyed Badgermole, you get the idea, didn’t stand on top of the walls of Osaka during a siege, dancing and waving my arms back and forth mimicking Katara’s _ it's-late-at-night-one-more-story-and-I'm-off-to-sleep _description of Sokka on cactus juice worshiping a mushroom. What a surprise, it didn’t work! Looking out from the corner, the southern side of the city was encircled by two long trench lines. 

So we went with Suki’s other plan, walking out the front gate, dancing. I emerged through the busted down gates first. Crossing the moat and trying to avoid all the corpses, I took off my tunic and waved it around. I asked Suki why she didn’t partake in this, she said that since I’m the Consort I have a distinctive figure. _That’s awesome, Sukes_. The Dai Li walled up the gatehouse behind us. Suki and I were alone, walking through a muddy field, wet with recent rains, coming from a warzone and walking towards an encamped army. I heard a couple mumbles of “screw the spirits” and turned to my side to see Suki pulling off her kimono as well. So now the two of us were waving our clothes around. Suki had her undergarments, at least. Not that the cold bothered us. 

Eventually, someone realized _ maybe the two figures not wearing shirts are here peacefully _ or something, and a soldier ran over to us. He spotted my eyepatch and kowtowed. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, I-” I put my finger to his face. “I don’t care” he got up, bowing again, turned and ran. Horns sounded. Soldiers emerged from their trenches to bow. We could put our clothes back on. Fong ran forwards, bowing. “Your Majesty, an officer told me Your Majesty was in the city but I didn’t expect Your Majesty to come so soon” _ boom _. Another bomb. Another black pillar behind me. 

The Dai Li returned to my side as I passed through the defensive lines. Soldiers cheered as I passed. A male and female, both earthbenders judging by their lack of footwear and possession of conical hats, escorted us to our quarters. Everyone, soldiers, officers and us, slept in the same medium sized earth tents. Ours just had two people resting in it as opposed to four. 

We had dinner in our quarters. Fong asked if we’d like to go over the Siege Plan at present or the next day come morning, we exchanged glances and using our eyes told him “tomorrow”. In short, Osaka is the only Colony to have successfully gone into open rebellion. Trains kept arriving, delivering supplies and vehicles. Not so distant explosions rang on and on. I’m writing this in the present. The Siege of Osaka, hopefully the final siege in the Colonial War, concludes tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, the Siege of Osaka! Most chapters going forward will be this long or longer.
> 
> So this one's full of references. Mostly Life of Brian ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WboggjN_G-4 ).   
Here's some references for the various rebels:  
-The Protectorate is a classic martyr-fueled Yellow Turban Rebellions.   
-The OPIM is the stereotypical group of rebels you find in almost any YA novel. Usually their leadership -because its adults- is corrupt, and anyone wearing white or played by a famous actor/actress is also evil. As the stereotypical group only wins because of plots reasons, not because they have any form of intelligent planning, the OPIM goes bang. The 'Arrow piercing a earth coin' is a reference to the Mockingjay symbol in the Hunger Games.   
-The PLMO is just a band of Bolsheviks except they forgot what ideology they were fighting for.   
-The White-Sheets are a way of distinguishing Kung's actual forces from his private militia or from any other rebel group. Why white sheets? The idea was they ripped the sheets off of beds and wore them as capes. White is a uniform color, its not green like the EK or red like the FN, and its common enough that it could be used. Plus, they think they are cool wearing capes.   
-White flag with a brown boot is a reference to the German Peasant's War in the 1520s, one of the many rebellions that resulted from Martin Luther's 95 Theses ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Peasants%27_War).


	49. The Assault on Osaka (Or: The Final Battle of the Colonial War)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Assault on Osaka, featuring the Kyoshian Duo, mass-assaults, tanks and terribly-trained troops.

HIM Entry XLIX:

Bombardments aren’t as fun when the other side doesn’t get to retaliate. Wait.

The Siege Plan:

We were awoken around dawn by General Fong’s aide. He requested we come to his War Room. Suki and I, having nothing better to do with our time, got dressed in our clothes and walked over. The “War Room” was a slightly larger earth-made structure, two men of the Royal Guard stood at the front entrance. They bowed at my arrival, wishing me “Good morning, Your Majesty”. The left guard ran in to tell Fong we were coming while we went through the flap. 

Inside, a building with holes for windows and torches attached to the wall via stone torch holders. The entrance room was stocked with a stone table and tea cups put out on plates. Making a right turn, going through another tent flap, we came upon a massive stone diorama of Osaka. The diorama was very accurate. The city looks like a half-moon, going right up to the shoreline. A small wall formed a half-circle around the docks and the town center. The Old City of Osaka. Standing across from us, the General of the South. He stood and bowed to me, then to Suki. “From what Captain Yizhu told me, Osaka isn’t a unified front?’ I nodded. “It’s more like a pack of dogs killing each other.” Suki snickered at that. “Guards!” he yelled over us. Two Royal Guardsmen ran in behind us. “Present!” they shouted, bowing. “Get me the high command!” They bowed. “Right away, General!” and they ran off. 

I continued. “Why aren’t we waiting for Osaka to burn itself down?” General Fong was moving his pieces around. Small green trucks formed a half-circle, encircling the city. Green figures stood side-by-side with red figures. Both wore conical hats. One large junk figure, missing its sail, sat atop the waters. Flanking it, five small junk figures. Finally, tank models were parked behind the green figures. Our encampment was showcased with a large low stone block, the trainline with a stone path snaking along the edge of the map. It wasn’t topographical but it was accurate. 

“Her Imperial Majesty is arriving by tomorrow and she wants Kung’s head,” he said, sounding almost _ bored _ with the opportunity to break a city. Suki knew well enough to back off here, she sat down on the stone seats while I stood. “And...so?” I asked, not as concerned as his facial expression. “So nothing. Let’s break Osaka, again” he slammed the table, making the pieces jump and topple.

First, the bombardments. Over the past day, the Imperial Army, reinforced with Colonial Militia, the Colonial Navy and the Naval Air Corps have thrown entire hillsides at the city. And yet, it hasn’t surrendered. “It’s not surrendering because why would it?” He shrugged. “Why would I know, the Fire Nation had enough honor to know when to give up”. “So how did you deal with the Protectorate?” He smirked. “To the last man”. I joined his smiling “Then it’s settled, isn’t it.” We shook hands and laughed. 

A dozen officers, half of them Colonials, two of them women, filtered into the now-crowded War Room. There was lots of greetings, mostly along the lines of “I’m in charge of” and “I’m honored Your Majesty is here to assist in the operation”. 

We came up with the following plan: 

Her Imperial Majesty’s Artillery Corps will cease firing sometime after breakfast. 

The Imperial Armored Corps will be the spearpoint for a four-pronged assault. Unlike the Caterpillars, these tanks are invulnerable to earthbenders. They are to drive down the main avenue, clearing any resistance they find. 

The Navy will shell the coastline as the Armored Corps advances.

The Colonial Militia will assault the city from the north and south while the Imperial Army reinforces focuses on the center prong. 

The Colonial Navy will sail right up to the wharfs and assault the Old City with Naval Infantry.

The three land prongs will hem Kung’s forces into the Old City whereupon they will be smashed between the Navy’s shelling, the Naval infantry and the three assaulting prongs.

Once the noose is tightened, Kung will either surrender or perish under overwhelming assault.

I’m writing this just after breakfast. The quaking of artillery has ceased. The walls of Osaka are in tatters. The Imperial Army awaits someone to give them a speech, according to Fong. We dressed up in the fanciest armor we could find, the armor of Royal Guards. As there’s only a couple Royal Guards present, its distinct enough to make us visible in the heat of battle, and practical for use in combat. Plus, who doesn’t want to wear a plumed helmet? And now I’m off, off to victory and hopefully some mighty fight clear whiskey. 

Raising Spirits and Leveled Walls:

Scabbard at my side, bow on my back and a quiver of arrows accompanying it, I set off for the podium. Suki had obtained a katana from the trainload of weapons brought in. Finally leaving the hedge maze of stone structures, I could finally look out upon the city. Long analytical overview short, it was in ruins and covered in smoke. The walls were knocked down in most places, the gatehouse itself was just rubble. The ground was covered in winding trenches, barely visible if not for the low rises demarcating hole from not-a-hole. Between the sun casting an orange hue on everything, the squishy grass and the strong smell of morning dew, I’d call it a perfect morning. The sun sitting above the montane spear-and-shield wall was a nice perk. Almost makes you forget you are here to annihilate an entire political ideology, hopefully forever but the last guy who said that was Master Jianzhu and he was wrong. 

Soldiers bowed as I passed, as always, and I walked up the stone steps to stand on top of a giant stone block. Good news, it had railings. Bad news, a single catapult from the city could mark the end of the Imperial Consort. Simply walking up the stairs earned applause. I looked around at the soldiers and vehicles. A long line of artillery trucks sat facing the mountain range, soldiers standing at their sides. Modified Tundra Tanks sat in a large gaggle formation. Or, a mob. Each tank had one of those metal tubes protruding from it, just like the ten that drove by during the Parade. Four men sat atop each one’s exterior, looking my way. Then there was the Army. The Colonials stood in two massive columns, sandwiching a third Imperial Army column. I couldn’t count the number of soldiers, but it was easily in the thousands for each. Most of the Colonials carried spears or crossbows. You’d be hard pressed to find a matching set of clothes amidst the Colonial Militia. The only thing uniform amongst them was wearing a green headband, probably with a red earth coin on it. Fong walked up the stairs and had it not been for Suki’s greetings I might’ve spun around and punched him in the face on impulse.

“Your Majesty, would you like to deliver a pre-battle speech?” Fong asked, bowing. _ What, ever since Yu Dao word spread about my speech skills? _ “Sure, why not”. He pointed at me and yelled “and now, a speech by His Imperial Majesty!” and I waved. Overwhelming cheering ensued.

“Good morning Southerners!” I yelled. They applaud with “Good morning, Your Majesty!” in ten different accents and twenty different pitches. “Osaka seems like a nice city!” the Colonials cried out in applause. “So let’s go take it! Most of you are going to die today but that’s what you signed up for!” and the crowd cheered even harder. “Who here likes whiskey!” the crowd shouted “I do!”s. “Good, winner gets whiskey! Let’s go!” I turned around and ran down the stairs. The crowd bowed, as always. Fong stepped up and began giving a speech about “a campaign of annihilation!” and “now let’s go die for our Queen!” and lots of cheering ensued. I wasn’t paying attention as I was walking over to the tanks. 

_Note to troops: If simply seeing the Imperial Consort's going to drive you into a "Ten Thousand Years" charge turned battle rage, enjoy me as much as you'd like. _

A Penetrating Spearpoint:

The Yu Dao Earthen Fire Armories Model Four was the official name of this version of the Tundra Tank. The other name for it? The _ Thunderpounder of Ba Sing Se_. So named for my surprise attack on General Shinji, “as quick as a thunderclap”. Yes, it sounds like something a teenager came up with. Because a teenager came up with it. The other, more commonly and referred to name was The _ Liberator _. Named for the “Liberator of Ba Sing Se” moniker Toph and I share. Not for the battle, as neither of us did much of anything. I removed a man's head and Toph sat in a chair. We came upon the lead tank and a man named Lieutenant Yizhou greeted us with his name. No not Yizhu, pronounced Yee-zhao not Yee-zhou but spelled Yizhou instead of Yizhao. “A pleasure for Your Majesty to grace us” was his following statement. “I lead the 1st Armored Company of the General of the South’s Imperial Army command, Your Majesty!” was his response to a simple question of “what’s your position?” 

A few minutes of formalities later, I finally got around to asking “can I get on the back of your tank for the assault” to which he nodded happily. Suki and I got on the rear of the tank, holding on to small railings protruding from the shell. The four of them got inside. Well, Yizhou stuck his head out the tank’s hatch. I looked back towards the podium and spotted Fong eyeing me. He gave me this _ are you sure? _ look and ran over to me. A quick exchange of “you want to lead the assault?” and “sure” resulted in him smiling and reaching for the horn at his side. One loud blast later, I heard Yizhou yell “driver gate!” and the tank fired up. We _ raced _ away from Fong. He stood still as tanks skirted around him. Behind us, a flying wedge formation. Ahead of us, the ruined walls. We skipped over trench holes like they weren’t even there. 

The tank crushed the ruined rubble of the gatehouse as we came upon the city streets. Behind us, the flying wedge became a two-tank wide column as they came through the gatehouse. “Bombardier, explosive, mob!” Yizhou called out over the loud engine. “Targeted!” the man replied. Suki and I stuck our heads out from our cowering, sure to look awesome in the posters, positions. Ahead of us, a mob of people carrying white flags with brown boots on them. “Not these guys again” Suki murmured. “Locked!” a third man from inside called out. A few seconds after, “Fire!”. A _ bang _ was heard as we taught the gaggle of drunks what happens when you declare open rebellion. Upon impact, it exploded and broke into shrapnel, shredding the entire front few lines. Off to our right, a tank rolled up next to us. I couldn’t hear what they said, but I watched the tank shake ever so slightly as a stone artillery shell, the size of a metal one, flew out the front and went face first into some poor farmer’s face. _ Ouch _. The mob split. Most of them turned and ran. Some decided to run at us, throwing various utensils, namely forks, at us. “So, after this is done, let’s make a kitchen?” Suki asked, grabbing a fork out of midair. “Driver, full speed, ram!” The people that threw the forks? Scattered into side-allies. The bravest of them got turned to paste. Good news for us, most of the forces were destroyed. Bad news, I spotted figures running through the ruined house rubble. Far behind us, the front elements of the Imperial Army were running through the gatehouse, a certain General Fong and his earth wave leading them. 

Plowing onwards, we came upon a human barricade. A line of white-cape wielding men were locked together in a spear wall formation a few hundred feet from us. Their leader was waving a dao around and screaming “lock pikes!” _ Oh this’ll be fun _ . Suki grabbed my plume and pulled me off the tank with it. I got the idea and landed on my feet. _ Thanks Suki _ . So now we were huddled to the left side of the tank. “Bombardier, stone, mob!” Yizhou called out. “Targeted!” came the reply. “Locked!” came a second later. “Fire!” the tank shook ever so slightly. In front of us, the stone went right into the mob, punching a hole in the mob, quickly filled by ever more proud-to-die men and women. I nocked an arrow, just in case. The dao-wielding officer, or I guess that’s what he’s supposed to be, raised his blade and hacked the air in our direction. The spearmen broke rank and charged us. _ Thwick _ . Right into one of the spearman's chests. They aren’t equipped with armor, better for us. The tanks blocked most of the road and we used them as cover. Suki “bet ten gold” that only two soldiers could fit between the tanks, so we took to hiding on opposite sides and waiting. Suki grasping her katana in next-to-head _ kamae _ position and I mimicking her. 

She was right, of course. _Note to self: This is why you attend classes on mathematics in the Great Hall instead of going swimming. _

Two guys came scurrying through the gap and one head was _ sliced _ clean off, like a butcher shop, by the katana. The other got the old sword-through-the-temple. What Suki was wrong about, however, is that spearmen tried climbing over the tanks as well. I spotted one guy trying to open a hatch and got his legs blown off by the tank firing. Two men came out of an alleyway to the left and tried to spear Suki. Instead, she parried both spearthrusts at the same time then with the ease of a dancer gave the duo the old _ slice _ . At some point, Yizhou decided enough was enough and the engine fired up, plowing right through the left side of the soldiers. Who would’ve thought giant spiked treads make for great rams. The second tank copied the first and rammed through its column. The second tank, however, ended up dragging a couple white-capes along as they held onto the tank for dear life. So now we were both standing in the middle of a road with two dozen white-capes who remained un-rammed. We stood up, swords at the ready, awaiting their charge. "Care for a dance?" Suki yelled out while drawing her katana back to its ready position, darting her eyes between attackers. Instead, the two dozen was reduced to a dozen and a half with two stone shells fired at them. Turning around, we still had another ten tanks in the middle of the road. Suki and I exchanged a look of _ lets-leave-this-to-them _ and ran as fast as we could through the gap between the tanks. And we ran, and ran. Soon enough, we came upon Fong’s earthwave. He halted it to bow and exchange happy greetings. “How’s the offensive, Your Majesty?” Suki and I, covered in sweat, laughed. Fong didn’t continue the offensive, giving us a few minutes to collect our energy and clean our blades. 

Ahead of us, the column of tanks stormed onwards. Loud bangs and screams signified they were pretty successful. They were so successful that they easily outran the rest of the Imperial Army and got surrounded by a mob of beige-sash wearers. Fong spotted the sashes and fumed. “Are those...Protectorate sashes?” his face went red. “Yes, General”. _ Never tell Fong he missed a spot _. His hand shot towards the sky and he screamed to the spirits above.

“Infantry, forrrrrm up!” 

Piling over his earth wall came the Imperial Army. They lined up in front of him, three-man spacing between each and four man spacing between lines. The Protectorate didn’t notice us yet, they were currently harassing the tanks and getting their heads, arms, chests, blown off with stone shells. Fong charged towards the Protectorate, opting for regular running instead of his earth wave. The army cheered and followed suit. We got caught up in their formation and joined them, cheering along. Maybe a hundred Consort's feet from the Protectorate mob, which now noticed us, Fong hit the air with an open palm, then clenched it. The mob’s assault stopped. I nocked an arrow, not wanting to be left out. Suki stood next to me, she wasn’t about to charge a massive mob. Fong screamed out, again. 

“Disc and Assault!” a strange name for a spectacular strategy.

Every single soldier in this column of a thousand reached to the ground and pulled up a small, thin, earth disc. Each soldier shaved it down while spinning it in his off-hand. The mob began charging. Fong didn’t have to give commands. The soldiers punched forward and a wave of discs crashed against a wave of men. The back lines launched them over our heads, raining stone on the mob like a miniature artillery barrage. Discs hit faces, staggering soldiers backwards. Multiple discs crashed against lead figures. “No need for the arrow” Suki gripped my shoulder. “You’re right. But isn’t it boring to sit back?” I gave her my best _ why-am-I-missing-out _ look and she smirked. “Yes, but that’s for later”. 

The soldiers then countercharged. The following might as well have been a choreographed performance at the theaters in Ba Sing Se. The lead line stomped the ground, sending them upwards with self-made earth pillars that dissolved once they jumped off of them. The line behind them used their opening to fling earth discs at the mob. Lines behind the first two scattered, picking up discs on the fly and sending them over fellow soldier’s heads. The lead soldiers came back down with a _ bang _ and sent the mob flying backwards with their earth smashing fists. The entire Army continued this barrage of earth discs. Just as one set of thirty or so discs crashed into the mob, another set would arrive. Despite the mob originally being the ones to charge, they both crashed like waves against rocks and were stuck between a hammer and anvil. _I can imagine the sensory shock they are going through, as everytime Toph feels like practicing her earthbending, I get tossed around._ This is not to forget that the tanks, now far gone, were still firing stone shells at the Protectorate. 

The forces of the Protectorate were done for. And unlike old-school techniques, earth discs took up very little earth, meaning the ground wasn’t destroyed for the sake of a couple boulder volleys. That might not matter in a battle in the open plains, but in a city where soldiers need the roads to move, they can’t compromise their own infrastructure for a large volley. 

Tightening the Noose:

Fong at the front, Suki and I behind a protective wall of soldiers, the rest of the Army behind, we marched forwards. Fong dispatched platoons down every alleyway we passed. Most of these “alleyways” were spaces not covered in rubble. Two story houses collapsed into a one-story pile of rubble. Hundreds of these piles were scattered across the city, especially closer to the eastern wall. The platoons vanished between these rubble piles, their main objective was to clear them of militias but I guarantee a couple men and women took the opportunity to loot the deserted, destroyed houses. 

At one point while walking, I got hit in the chest with an arrow. _ Thunk _ . I felt the shock of being hit with an arrow, but that was it. Suki immediately grabbed me and pulled me down, yelling “protect His Majesty!” Earth walls went up while Fong channeled his years of experience to _ fling _ the rubble of a house. I heard the sounds of arrows ticking against the earth walls, bouncing right off. Now free of grabby hands, though not free of all the attached eyes, I plucked the arrow out of my armor and stood up. “Thanks Sukes and that’s why I wear armor” and we laughed. The low hum of an aircraft sent my attention skyward. A biplane was flying over us at only a couple hundred feet above. The pilot banked the aircraft over us, did a single circle, then flew off towards the east, towards the sea. 

After half an hour of marching later, we numbered only a hundred. Fong was consistent and sent platoons, the same size for each, down every single back alley. Ten men, one time might not be many. But we passed a hundred alleyways. I don’t know if this was part of the war plan or not. On the one hand, it makes sense that of all the soldiers to use for mopping up, he’d use the earthbenders over a militia. On the other hand, we are quite open to assaults. 

We came upon a destroyed gatehouse accompanied by a low wall going in either direction. Fong immediately raised an earth wall for protection. “Take positions!” he quietly said, gesturing different directions. The soldiers behind us ran off. They ducked into alleyways and houses. I took Suki with me joined the hidden soldiers. We ran inside the corner house. Two females and a male were ducking inside the doorway. They got up and bowed to us. This house looked just like the last one we were in. Large downstairs with a living room, kitchen and bathroom. Upstairs with three bedrooms and a storage room. With their assistance, we searched the entire house, confirming we were the only habitants. From the master bedroom, we walked up to the windows. Looking across, we were at eye-level with the ramparts. Looking down, a pathway followed the low wall on the exterior side, leaving a large space between the last set of houses and the wall. The gatehouse was destroyed and hastily remade with earthbending. Fong was alone in the street. Suki screamed “archers!” and before I knew it I was facing the ceiling. We heard a few _ thunks _ as arrows planted themselves in the walls. One even flew in through the window and hit a painting behind us. 

Fong heard us and catapulted his earth wall into the low stone wall, making a hole in the low wall across from us. He caught more arrows with a rotating earth block, slowly backing down the road. Peeking out from cover, I caught a glimpse of the defenders. The walls were sparsely manned with white-capes. They stopped firing at Fong at the command of a dao-wielder. I don’t know where Fong went, I assume he was hidden out of sight.

We must’ve spent an hour cowering out in the upstairs hallway. The advantage we had going for us was the defenders couldn’t see into our house beyond the light shining through the master bedroom’s windows. We, meanwhile, could look out at the defenders as long as we weren’t in the master bedroom or any of the west-facing rooms. The white-capes dwindled in number. I learned that speaking above whispers would result in us getting shot at. Thankfully these weren’t Yuyan-trained. They’d fire in the direction of the sound and would usually land a shot through the window. So the master bedroom became a field of arrow shafts implanted in wood. Soldiers couldn’t cross the road, lest come under arrow fire. The creaking wood, from footsteps, would also set off the archers. It didn’t help that all the seagulls must’ve died, making every creak sound as intimidating as when I was a kid and wanted to wake up early to go to the beach. 

I’d get up and leave our bedroom and there was always this section of the wooden floorboards that creaks when I stepped on it. Right past the bathroom, just before it opens into the living room. Oyaji would always scream out and summon me to go back to bed. Not wanting the wrath of the mayor, I agreed. I made this mistake for years, until Suki and I were teenagers and Suki said “why don’t we climb out the window”. Ever since then, we woke up an hour before dawn and went down to the beach for a stroll, to practice, to watch the sunrise, or just to enjoy the smells of morning dew and the twilight bird symphony. 

We passed the time well. “So, Suki, at least you don’t smell like seal jerky” was the starting point of a thirty minute whisper. “Why thank you, Your Earthliness. And may I emphasize the _ earthliness _ .” “Oh, why thank you bodyguard. The only body you can be bothered to guard is Sokka’s though”. And we exchanged shoulder punches, having learned from Toph that a shoulder punch is the best way to show affection. Thus a discussion began on many things. It started with Sokka and deodorant, then became a discussion on Sokka and “I don’t want to know about that Suki stop being so graphic” and Suki’s, ahem, enjoyment factor. That then morphed into both of us taking pity on Katara for dating the guy from the culture where monks and nuns meet once a year to have kids. Then it became a discussion on the Avatar’s weaknesses and “he’s going to engage the Avatar State when he finds out about the factories”. But we spoke of him like gossiping teenagers remarking on one kid’s annoying father. It moved on to a discussion on “would the Avatar be willing to modernize” followed by quiet laughter. Then a discussion on the war. With all these new pieces of technology we should _ really _ sail west before Azula regains consciousness. “I’ll be sure to mention that to Toph”. 

At the end of this hour of boredom and “when are we getting around to the fun stuff”, thanks Suki, a series of horns blared. I rushed for the source of the sound. Peeking out of a corner window facing north, a large tidal wave of red and greens were arriving, carrying Colonial flags. I turned around, diving behind the bed and shouted “reinforcements have arrived!” The soldiers downstairs began cheering, followed by the entire street. A loud gong rang not far from us. The low whirring of a biplane came and went. 

The Colonials didn’t halt, after all there was nobody on the street. I got up and, while staying to the side of the window, looked down in horror as men and women were shot by arrows. Looking across, the white-capes had returned, clutching bows and arrows. “They’re distracted!” Suki whispered to me, having crawled up through the field of shafts. Arrow nocked. Target spotted, a farmer with a large beard about to toss a javelin. He raised his right hand for the toss and _ thwick _. The arrow flew right out the bedroom window, crossing the street in a split-second, and struck the farmer in the underarm. The javelin was dropped and he fell over. His screams merged in with the rest of them.

Suki and I remained inside the building, watching. The archers on the walls weren’t looking our way at least. Beneath us all, a large uncoordinated mob of Colonial militia. Fire blasts were being punched up at the archers. Earthbenders were pressing the earth wall over, only for it not to budge. _ Enemy earthbenders?. _Crossbow-people shot bolts erratically. Some hit, some struck stone, some flew off into the sky. Earthbenders formed earth walls, but not as coordinated as the Corps. On the walls, the archers had a field day. Parts of the crowd were covered in large earth walls, but even then the earth walls only hindered the attackers. Archers could still fire over them. And they did, plunging arrows, javelins, sling stones, and handheld boulders at the crowd. Suki pointed at one in particular. “They’re hiding out of sight of the crossbows” and we watched as a figure released an arrow, likely a hit. “But not out of _ my _ sight!” I punched the air. Suki cheered. She reached down and began dislodging arrows from the floor. Arrow nocked. Figure spotted. _ Thwick _ . Enemy archer took an arrow right to the head. His head might be hidden from soldiers below but _ not to me _. A loud shriek overtook all noise, and it was coming from above us.

The militia was being slaughtered. For every archer they’d kill with a crossbow or fire blast, they’d lose ten of theirs. “What’s that sound?” Suki whispered as I released another arrow into a defender, a bannerman standing off by the staircase. I stuck my head out a window and looked up. A biplane was _ diving _ towards the defenders, coming from the west. The noise was getting louder and louder. “Get down!” I screamed, tackling Suki into the hallway. 

The ground quaked. The building shook. A large boom overtook all thoughts, all whiskey-craving thoughts. A wave of dust layered us all. Peeking out of the window, a large black cloud of smoke and dust was kicked up by the explosion. The screams finally returned. “At least I’m not deaf!” Suki said, wiping some sweat from her face. 

Emerging downstairs, nobody was home. Going outside, now with a refilled quiver of other people’s arrows, earthbenders were clearing the dusty air with earthbending. Over at the wall, most of the white-capes slumped over the parapets, dead. The Colonials were now able to punch the wall down and run through it. The vanguard men and women launched earth discs while others made earth pillars for the firebenders to jump over. One team of earthbenders had the bright idea to build an earth ramp and charged the walls head on. Suki and I waded through the crowd and over the many corpses and soon-to-be ones over to this team. One of them recognized my eyepatch and chanted “The One-Eyed Badgermole has arrived!” Quickly, a cheer crossed the battlefield. The earthbenders built a semi-circle earth wall to surround us while we climbed up the ramp. I got to the front, jian in hand. A minute of _ pings _ later, the two lead earthbenders punched the wall over onto a poor defender. 

I was the first one off and blocked a dao strike from the left. His blade hit mine, I pressed his blade back up then using the second-long opening to strike him down. Three spearmen were running up the staircase, an archer was some twenty feet away, and the ground was scattered with white-cape wearers, killed by shrapnel. An earth disc whooshed past my left side, impacting the archer in the chest, making him stumble. I grabbed the fallen dao and put it in my off-hand. I tried a dao strike at the spearmen, one blocked it with his spear. The guy to his left was about to thrust forward but got another earth disc to the face. The third man ran around. So this first guy is holding my dao at bay, right? I take my jian out and plunge it into his left arm, making him yelp. At the same time, I run the dao along the spear before _ slice _ and no more spearman. Turning to my right, Suki was filleting a crossbowman. The earthbender team was spreading out along the walls. While I ducked behind the low wall, a few arrogant earthbenders tried charging across exposed positions. One got an arrow to face, another got surprised and impaled. 

Below us, the marketplace and a large courtyard. A large crater sat in the middle of what was once a set of food stalls. White-caped bodies were dotted all around it. The Town Center was dead ahead. The Colonials had broken through the defenders below, not before taking heavy casualties. The white-capes might be terrible fighters, but the Colonial Militia wasn’t much better. This isn’t the Colonial Corps, hardy soldiers training day and night. The Militia showed up bearing whatever weapons they could. Many soldiers were carrying pitchforks and scythes. In general, spears are a terrible weapon for this kind of siege warfare. Bottling up a street? They’re great. Hand-to-hand? Terrible. Even worse against benders. 

Down on the street, a woman was yelling and waving her hands around. I couldn’t hear her, but quickly the Colonial Militia appeared to form up. Earthbenders raised a wall, firebenders standing behind them. Suki and I ran down the staircase while firebenders kicked down doors and cleared out -with fire- rooms. A Colonial Flag was raised over the ruins of the gatehouse. Upon my arrival, the soldiers cheered “The One-Eyed Badgermole has arrived!” and bowed. 

The Naval Infantry Arrive:

“What does Your Majesty suggest?” the female, clad in Fire Nation officer armor asked, bowing. “Let’s end this!” and the crowd cheered. She was the commander of the Colonial Militia of the Central Hinterland, the lands not along the coast that belong to the Colonies. Long story short, we planned to assault the Town Center. We set off at a brisk pace, the earthbenders maintaining an earth wall and pushing it forwards as we walked. _ I forgot about clearing the houses _.

Reaching the Town Center, we got attacked from all sides. Spearmen poured out of houses and suddenly we were surrounded. They lowered their spears and pressed us towards the Town Center. And yet, I spotted no officers. As we were slowly pushed backwards down the street _ towards _ the objective they are supposed to protect, a tsungi horn sounded. “Is that...a _ tsungi_?” Suki yelled like she was in some strange nightmare. Out of a main road behind the white capes running north-south, a single man charged out. 

He had a two-pointed grey beard, and he punched twin fire blasts at the white-capes, catching two people alight. Behind him, a man was _ running _ while playing the tsungi. Behind _ him_, a couple dozen people came running, launching earth discs and fire blasts. They were dressed like Fire Navy trebuchet operators wearing cold-weather gear. The white-capes were caught off guard. Those that didn’t catch alight or get a disc to the face tried to raise their spears and point them at the charging wave of red. In doing so, they were assaulted from behind by our pitchfork wielding, straw chomping militiamen and women. 

They were utterly annihilated, cut down by flame, stone, spear, sickle, pitchfork, dao, axe, dagger, scythe and nunchucks in one case. The grey-bearded man bowed formally. “Good afternoon, Your Majesty!” The crowd bowed behind him, well the ones that weren’t finishing off white-capes were. “A pleasure, captain!” I bowed back to him, his face matched one from memory but between all the warring and strange prophecy stuff, I didn’t recall _ who _ he was, thus, "who are you?". The tsungi horn player stopped playing and spoke for him.

“Admiral Jee, Commander of the 1st Colonial Navy from his flagship, the _ Kyoshijima _”

“Well, Admiral, it looks like this one-eyed teen did become your superior, after all”

_Faceslap. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, a world meeting (featuring Tophnanagins)!
> 
> Tank commands are based on historical ones, as traditionally commands need to be spoken as quickly as possible to avoid being killed.


	50. On Colonies and Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its a massive diplomatic meeting, how could it possibly go wrong?

HIM Entry L:

Mandate: Promising to give away your territory to the locals because you lack the money to hold it because the Fourth Summer Palace needs this year's designs for a Botanical Garden. There's no way that could fail, right?

The Siege’s End:

_ Admiral _ Jee and the Naval Infantry along with what remained of the Colonial Militia quickly captured the Town Center. Jee personally lead the team to capture Kung. The middle aged man with a striking resemblance to Lao Beifong, slightly larger beard, was dragged out of his bathroom in the middle of a bath. He was given a single towel to wrap himself while he was shackled up. 

Next thing you know, I’m sitting in the Town Center’s Governor’s office on this nice cushy chair. Suki stayed with me, sitting on a chair nearby, and we toasted to the victory. General Fong arrived shortly thereafter, bowing. Fong, Jee, Yizhou and various surviving commanders and officers arrived for a debrief. The debrief took place in one of the few not-bombed out rooms of the Town Center, the Governor’s Study.

The Armored Corps’ absence was due to Yizhou making his own decision to reinforce the Southern Prong. The Southern Prong was caught up in close-quarters combat and was being routed. Fong’s men were busy mopping up insurgent groups hiding in the New City. Thus, the Northern Colonial Militia ended up tasked with capturing the -as we found out- heavily guarded Old City. Admiral Jee -smirking while being mentioned- was the only commander of an offensive force to actually follow his instructions. He shelled the Old City throughout the morning. His scout aircraft helped give him a tactical overview of the rest of the Siege. His bombers did sorties against all large groupings of white-capes throughout the morning. “One of yours saved all of us out at the Eastern Gate” I made sure to comment. Finally, his Naval Infantry landed and smashed the coastal garrison.

Overall, there was a major lack of communication by all parties. Future sieges should include reconnaissance aircraft for all armies and siege groups. And they will. Surely, Toph wouldn’t punish anyone for thinking creatively, she just wants results. 

That night, the armies celebrated. The Colonials packed the trains going north and south, civilians who fled into the eastern mountains were returning to the ruins of their city and a bunch of Dai Li kicked down the door to the Governor’s Quarters and barged in. “Your Majesty, Her Imperial Majesty summons you to a meeting of all governors, magistrates and nobles up in Yu Dao. Do you wish to go?” I was half-asleep at the time, exhausted from all the fighting and debriefing. I said yes. Suki accompanied me, albeit I don’t know how effective she could be as a bodyguard while asleep. I was carried out of the Governor's Quarters while music played in the streets. The soldiers and civilians that were partying _ thankfully _ didn’t notice the inebriated second-in-command of the Earth Kingdom being carried out and dragged to a train. Jee was singing “Four Seasons, Four Loves" while his ship crew played instruments around him. Civilians joined in. Ever heard a city full of happy drunks singing a song about seasons? It doesn’t sound pretty. I was carried to the train where I fell asleep in a soft, comforting seat made of _hard stone_. I made sure to order them to give the one fur blanket to Suki.

One and a half days later, I arrived at Yu Dao. The train was full of Colonials going home. They emptied off before I did, each one wishing “safe travels, Your Majesty” and bowing. They were mostly dressed in greens and reds, but one girl wasn’t. She wore a black robe in place of a red one and this red-purple article underneath. I couldn’t grab her because she exited through a different door. Suki remarked “she looks quite bored with it all” and I nodded. We left the train and set off for the Colonial Palace. The gigantic phoenix prow was a distinctive landmark. Then against so was _ the ten story tall metallic statue of Toph _. It featured Toph in her wrestler outfit holding Ozai’s head with her left hand. It faced the Mo Ce, I suppose that way any future invaders will have to see Toph’s cheeky grin when they come over the horizon. 

Arriving at the Colonial Palace, Ming greeted me with a smile. I changed out of the now dirt-coated Imperial Armor and joined Suki for the showers. Suki got dressed in her Kyoshi Warrior armor while I got dressed in my Imperial Daytime Autumn Robes, hat included. I brought along my scabbard and Piandao jian for good measure. Ming informed us that this world-encompassing meeting was taking place in a stone-structure venue down by the docks. She asked if we’d like a carriage or not, Suki and I shrugged and went with one. Bannermen followed us, Guards bowed and horns blared.

We took _ the _ Imperial Carriage down the avenue to the docks. This truck was different from the last truck we sat in. This one sped along quite quickly. _ Maybe using tank technology? _ Driving down the road, I heard cheers from the passing civilians. Cheering for the monarchy, cheering for Toph’s still recent-memory victory at Yu Dao and cheering because cheering is fun.

Ming was right, it was a stone structure. A stone structure located right next to Toph’s gigantic statue. Both sat on the beach. The building was two stories and quite wide. Windows were installed. Balconies ran along the second floor. Off to the side, a large stablelike building manned by various guards, both Colonial and Earth Kingdom. At least ten, definitely more, carriages sat inside the pens, flags wafted in the breeze above them. The guards offered to roll out a carpet for us, but we declined because after a day of bloodshed what’s a little sand. The Door Guards opened the door and shouted. Suki and I walked through the front door as the guards kowtowed. Inside the lobby, we heard people shouting “His Imperial Majesty has arrived!” Two large doors opened, revealing a massive room. A large circular stone table ran around the room. A few seats remain empty. Straight ahead, Her Imperial Majesty reclining on a Throne.

Tradition Says:

A guard standing next to the door shouted “All rise for His Imperial Majesty” and read off my titles from memory. The entire room stood, looking at me, and bowed. Toph got up after the rest sat and waved. “I’m happy you made it, _ Kyoshi _! With your arrival the meeting can officially begin” and she sat down, gripping the Throne. The ministers, and some distinctive voices, groaned. I kowtowed for dignity's sake and walked through the center of the room and noticed that behind me to the right sat Team Avatar in all their glory. Aang and his orange clothing was quite distinctive. On his right, Katara. Then Sokka, then Zuko, then a few empty seats, then people who looked like officials. I took the Throne to Toph’s right and Suki stood behind us both. The Throne Room felt emptier than it looked. Despite a massive round table that could probably seat a hundred, a few dozen -counting Team Avatar- arrived.

A side note before going forward with the recording. I arrived in the middle of Zuko giving a speech on de jure laws. As for why nobody killed Zuko, Toph insisted that all parties would be allowed to voice their opinions during this meeting. At the end of the day, Toph could overrule them all but she chose the path of neutral jing instead. Back to the events. 

Zuko bowed royalty-to-royalty. “I am happy to see you in attendance, Your Majesty” and turned towards Her Imperial Majesty, “In conclusion, the Colonies took a set of estuaries inhabited by autonomous backwater tribes and made them the powerhouses of technology they are now” and the Colonial officials cheered. He stood, straight and tall, while Toph whispered into my ear. She explained that he was trying to vouch for the Fire Nation’s de jure rights. With the explanation out of the way, I stood. All eyes in the room looked to me while I adjusted my now-tilted cap. 

“Prince Zuko” I gave a slight bow. “How can you possibly speak for the Fire Nation? The Fire Nation is not run by the Fire Lord, it is run by” I coughed to catch my breath, “the High Generals and His Highness, Shogun Bujing”. The last few words made Zuko visibly quiver. “So he’s a pretender, so what?” and he punched the air above him, a small fire blast hitting the stone ceiling. “He may be a _ pretender _ but he currently runs the Fire Nation and you don’t.” I’m sure other records will mention my exuding of arrogance. “And unless things have changed in the past month, the Fire Nation is our sworn enemy. How do you expect us to just make amends with them?” Aang put a hand on the about-to-combust Zuko, pulling him back down to sit. Aang gave Katara one of those ‘give Zuko a calming speech or just punch him in the face a few times’ looks and stood, bowing in Air Nomad style. 

“Mornin’ Your Earthliness!” _ Oh great, here we go again. _ “May I present, the Air Acolytes!” and he pointed with _ both _ his hands at a team of... _ orange robe wearing girls. _ Sokka shouted out, quite out of line, “The Avatar’s _ other _ fangirls!” eyeing Suki. I could sense her _ I’m-going-to-deck-you _ gaze, having been on the recipient of it many-a-time and a witness to it many more times. Mostly witnessing her decking of Sokka. 

A tall woman bearing a red headband and clothes very similar to those the Air Nomads once wore, if the artistic drawings are to be believed, stood and bowed just as Aang did. “Your Imperial Majesty” she looked at Aang for approval, he smiled, nodding ever so slightly, and she continued. “In the pursuit of peace and in the footsteps of Avatar Aang’s own morals, we fully support Your Imperial Majesty’s claim on the Colonies. However, we believe that the Fire Nation citizens should also go back to the Fire Nation.” I looked at Toph to judge her reaction. Her reaction was pretty distinctive, a bored tongue-sticking out and attempt-but-failure to eyeroll. She tapped my shoulder and whispered her response. Sitting in my throne, I raised my hand and all side-conversations ended. 

“Avatar Aang, Air Acolytes, Her Imperial Majesty has already stated she isn’t going to just uproot half the Colonials and send them back.” The crowd turned towards Aang, who pulled at his robe to dislodge it from his neck. He remained standing, breathed in a few times, and spoke. “If not now, when?” Toph whispered her response. “What’s your point, Avatar?” He bowed. “As the Avatar, I am meant to maintain balance. The Fire Nation committed a massive injustice in conquering your ancestors’ lands. Send the Fire Nationals home.” Toph let out a booming roar of laughter. “Easy for you to say.” I didn’t even need her to tell me what to respond with. I had the ultimate killer. “Avatar, by your own mantra, the only people who should live on the Air Temples are you and the Air Acolytes. And they are Earth Kingdom citizens. And what of your girlfriend, Master Katara? She’s not an Air Nomad.” _ Well that took the argument out of him _ . The two lovers blushed, Aang sat down to get a drink and Sokka shot me an _ I'm-going-to-deck-you _ look. _Sokka and Suki, now that's a couple._ Suki responded with one of her own. Before I could continue my glare, the doors opened again. 

“And who is this who arrives late?” Toph shouted. A girl in the hottest of hot pink outfits, with the largest eyelashes and equally large eyes _ cartwheeled _ in. “Oh, it's my friend Mai! She’s got a bad aura today!” Then entered the girl in black from earlier with her orange-brown eyes. Zuko’s previous scowl became a genuine, yeah I didn't believe it either, smile and he jumped out of his seat and ran over to her. The rest of the room looked on in a mix of shock, horror and “oogies”. While the two of them _ kissed _ , one of the guards grabbed the girl in hot pink. “No cartwheeling in the presence of Her Imperial Majesty”. The long-braid girl _ poked _ him in the shoulder while going “sorry!” and his right arm went _ limp _ . Mai pushed Zuko’s tender, not as tender as his face, lips off of her and shouted “Ty Lee!” and the hot pink cartwheeling girl skipped back to her. “My apologies, Your Majesty, I should’ve brought a leash” which got a chuckle from Toph, Suki and I. The jumpy girl jumped _ over _ the table and ran towards the two of us. Suki unsheathed her blade. “I wouldn’t…” she let out while in that _I'm-about-to-side-slash-you_ stance.

Now that she was a few feet from us, her _ gigantic blinking eyes _ were terrifying. I keep saying stuff I find is terrifying, but this is the stuff of nightmares. Instead of killing us, she bowed, grabbed her braid, tossing it over her shoulder, and cartwheeled over to an empty seat -she only had ten to choose from in that part of the room- to the right of Team Avatar. “Come on, doom and gloom, we don’t want to miss the meeting!” she said, all cheery despite a dozen deadly metalbenders, one quite furious katana-wielder and said doom-and-gloom shooting her a death stare. The two sat down and introduced themselves for anyone that was too busy watching the chaos the first time to hear their names. “I’m Ty Lee!” the cheery girl applauded herself and grabbed the black haired girl’s shoulder, “and this is Mai”. But Mai took Ty Lee’s hand and slapped Ty Lee with it, by accident. I stopped paying them any attention and chose to direct my eyeball at Team Avatar “and Zuko, you know these people because…?” Zuko stopped _ blushing _ and responded. “They went to school with me as kids. We hung out together.” Toph, ever perceptive, said “we?” and Zuko shot himself in the foot. “Azula and I…” I watched his face go from a happy smile to a _ I’m-about-to-die _ scowl but Toph simply laughed. “So, are they friends of Azula or friends of yours?” Mai stood up, dusting herself of all the glitter and sparkles and went “nah, she never visited us and torching a city made us join up and swap sides”. _ Well that’s good to know _. 

For the next part of the meeting, the Mechanist stood up to give a lecture. “The Colonies have helped drive technological innovation the likes of which has never been seen before in human history.” the red-and-green wearers cheered. He then explained what I’ve seen first hand. The metallurgy industry could only exist thanks to the combination of earth and fire. He gave examples of the technological progress that the Colonies brought. In chronological order, the standardized printing press used the Earth Kingdom’s plentiful resources, the Colonies have a massive road network, the groundwork laid by Colonial earthbenders, and the invention of oil lanterns being some of the older examples.

I looked over at Aang for a few seconds. Sokka and he were snickering about _ something _ and pointing at the Mechanist. Katara hit Sokka with a snowball while Aang reclined. Zuko slapped his face and groaned. Listening back to the Mechanist, he continued. Newer examples, not in chronological order, include the assembly line, a feature in all Fire Nation factories ensuring a standardized product; smaller coal-fired engines, invented in Yu Dao and now used by all Tundra Tanks; advances in horticulture, a result of the mix of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom knowledge; the train lines, while entirely made by and run by earthbenders, uses the Coastal Road; the invention of and prevalence of standardized cartography, courtesy of Colonial explorers traveling into the rural Earth Kingdom; the firework, a mixture of Earth Kingdom gunpowder and firebender, “blew open the door” for the development of offensive explosives; and finally the jet ski, allowing for Colonies to travel up and down major rivers with ease. He ended it off with “Avatar Aang, to remove the Fire Nation from the Colonies would be to go backwards in time”, bowed to us and went back to his seat. The crowd was roaring with cheering. Aang and Sokka shared a face of confusion, _ almost as if they missed the entire meeting _. I wonder why.

Toph addressed the cheering crowd. “I’m hungry, I’m dismissing the Meeting for lunch. Everyone be back in the afternoon”. The Colonials stood and bowed like a wave. “Long live the Earth Queen” and they filtered out of the room to a mess hall located nearby. The Earth Kingdomers kowtowed and followed suit. I got up, too. Gotta stretch the legs. Toph called for her lunch, a steak, to be brought to her. 

Lunchtime Antics:

Walking along the table, I noticed that each occupied section of the table had paperweights and papers. I wasn’t going to infringe on the notes people were taking, though most of the papers were just prepared speeches. Team Avatar remained in their seats. Well, Sokka got up and went “ah, finally a break from all this boredom” _ as I was walking over to them _ . Katara grabbed him with a water-turned-ice lasso and pulled him back. “How could you be so immature in front of His Majesty”. Sokka squirmed “but he doesn’t care”. I walked right past the Zuko who... _ was Zuko laughing? What in the name of Toph? _And the flushed Aang to stand next to Sokka. I coughed to catch his attention, as the carpeting made my footsteps quiet. “I do mind, in fact.” and I walked away. Katara yelled “see?” and I heel-turned, pointed at my eye and went “well I sure don’t”, earning applause from the hot pink Ty Lee. “That was pretty funny”. 

Mai slid over to sit next to Zuko, the duo discussing history but Ty Lee chose to slide under the table and emerge in front of me. “You look just like Zuko, only if his hair was on fire and in a _adorable _braid”. At the mention of Zuko, said individual scowled. As if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, she went “is that real hair?” and I pointed at Suki, who reacted with a chuckle. “Yes, it is”. Ty Lee played with her braid. “So, you’re just Zuko but blue clothing and hair’s on fire”. I copied Zuko’s scowl, if this was one of his friends no wonder he got himself banished. I backed up, involuntarily, and tripped over myself. “Hey, hot pink, I’m _ honored _ ” I thought to channel some Fire Nation sayings, “to chat with you but I’d rather go back to the Earth Queen”. Toph raised her hand. “Nope, hot pink girl, continue flirting with _ Kyoshi _ !” Toph yelled, holding a piece of steak dripping grease. “Okay!” the starry-eyed Ty Lee responded, applauding. Thus began her attempts to flirt with me. Said attempts earned Toph’s amusement. I’m not recording them because they were terrible. Turns out I have a lot more in common with Zuko than not. The difference is my _ girlfriend _ is the Earth Queen and his is some mopey noblewoman. I also learned said mopey noblewoman is proficient in like ten different throwing weapons. I’m proficient in throwing whiskey bottles at people, if that counts. Also, doesn’t she realize depth perception tends to limit one’s abilities with throwing an object? No, of course she doesn’t. Besides, Zuko _ has _ a second eye, it’s just scarred over. In her attempts to be flirty, and I _ know _ this is Toph trying to get some bastards to then pursue for giggles, I learned that she smells like a half-dozen exotic fragrances. Too exotic for me. Probably not exotic enough for Katara and her endless pursuit for things that aren’t seal-blubber.

The Air Acolyte leader stood up and requested “can we eat lunch here, Your Majesty?” Aang got up and walked over to them while Toph stopped chewing, a courtesy, to respond. “Whatcha eating?” the girl took out her bag and went “oh, we prepared some Air Nomad cuisine, the finest vegetarian diet” and all of us watched Toph gag. “If you’re telling me you want to go eat grass, go outside and eat grass. This is a purely meat house. I eat meat. I love meat." Aang sighed, Sokka cheered and the girls shot me this disappointed look. I tried to mediate. “Her Imperial Majesty doesn’t mind if you want to eat it here, enjoy” and I flashed a smirk. They cheered. I also ordered the courtiers to summon “the best steak we could find”. Sokka and Katara cheered at my request. Sure enough, five minutes of waiting later, a set of attendants came out carrying what was once a hippo-cow and was now prime rib. Zuko and Mai sat nearby, scowling together. Can’t wait for them to ascend the throne and scowl at us from the other side of the world. While the Avatar sat _ on the floor _ in the middle of the conference room, Sokka ran over to Suki and pestered her. “Whaddya think, Suki? You and me, go for a walk?” he nudged her shoulder, she pile drove him into the ground “involuntarily, I’m sorry, still on duty” his loud bang and _ ow _ stirred Katara’s attention and she definitely didn’t refrain from laughing. As a reward for the humor and possibly in the same vein as Toph when she tries to start wars by embarrassing people enough, I summoned Suki. She turned around and walked five steps over to me. “Yes, Your Majesty?” Keeping my eye locked on Sokka, I told her “you’re off duty now, go enjoy some time with Sokka” and nodded. She stood again, formally nodded, then ran into Sokka _ just as he was standing up _ and tackled him to the ground. Their impromptu makeout session on the floor, a single smek was shared, a few feet from the dining Air Acolytes and slightly more feet from us earned laughter from everyone except the new Fire Nation power couple. “Aw, isn’t that sweet. Sokka, you get to share your _ oogies _ with Suki!” Katara clapped in applause. I didn’t see Sokka shoot her a _ that’s-not-fair _ look but I can imagine that’s probably what he did. And if it wasn’t, it's funnier to imagine it like that. 

Suki and Sokka walked out of the room holding hands and before Sokka could go “that’s mine” Katara grabbed his plate of food and merged it with hers. Suki pulled him back into her embrace before he could make a fool out of himself for the...fourth time? today. Her Imperial Majesty outdid Katara with a stack of sliced meat one Consort’s hand tall. The two Queens got to competing. “You’re going to lose Earth Queen” versus “It’s on Sugar Queen”. Insults over the other being “less of a meat eater” were exchanged while they stuffed themselves. Toph tried to throw an artillery shell sized explosive into all this, citing my consumption of meat and Aang’s lack of as some kind of arbiter of success. So Katara looked to me and went “but he’s not eating anything right now!” to try and level the playing field, pointing at Aang innocently downing some green substance. What does Toph do? She grabbed me with an earth fist, dragged me the couple steps over, and shoved a piece of sliced meat into my mouth with her own greasy hands. Well, first she smeared it over my face, then finding the _ correct _ hole, no not my nose, she pushed it in. Many oms and some noms later, I ate the meat. Wuhan was ready with the handkerchief to wipe my face. And hands. Thankfully not hair. But now I smelled like strange-exotic-animal-lathered-in-grease-grease which was pretty great. Zuko and Mai enjoyed all this downing a bowl of...flakes? Fire Flakes? I must’ve missed the part when an attendant brought them some. The Katara versus Toph war over meat won with a Katara victory. Not much of a surprise, she had a smaller plate and Toph probably has a smaller stomach. 

Toph gave her a few seconds to enjoy her victory, then shouted “okay lunch over, time to resume the meeting!” which earned looks of surprise and two unbreakable scowls. Toph stomped the ground, stomped it again, then shouted across to Katara “Sugar Queen, go get your brother!” Katara looked back, surprised, as she was in the process of wiping her utensils clean, all formal and ladylike. Toph packaged me in, “you, go with Katara.” I bowed, still confused as to why. I skirted the Air Nomad carpet placed down, the various acolyte girls were looking up at me much less confused. They must know something I don’t. That, or they expect this as common practice from monarchs. What would they know, the closest thing they have to a king is currently “doing the thing”, the thing being a marble airbending trick. _ Note to self, do the thing is a great saying. It’s extremely vague to anyone who isn’t in the know but makes total sense to people that are. Sokka, you genius. _

Katara and I left and took to walking around the building. We decided to check each room as we passed. There weren’t that many doors to check. While doing this, she asked me about traditions. I repeated what I said earlier. “If Aang wants to follow through with his rules, he’d have to stop dating you because you’re not an Air Nomad”. Of course, phrasing it like that made Katara _ look _ heartbroken and probably felt much worse. Silence for a few minutes of walking. She teared up but thankfully didn’t break out the water whip. “How could you...” I held up my hand. “You won’t break Her Imperial Majesty on the Colonies. Maybe _ pay attention _ this time and you’ll hear something useful”. Katara slid slightly further from me and shouted “I wasn’t the one having a side conversation!” and threw her hands up out of frustration. “So you’re against Her Imperial Majesty’s pragmatism but not against multinational efforts. When we find your brother and my cousin you should _ probably _ speak up”. She threw her hands up again, now turning angry. A few minutes of “hey, do that a bit more and you look like Zuko” and I kicked open _ the wrong door _ . It was a janitor’s closet, mops and brooms lined the shelves and the floor was squeaky clean. Save for the _ other, other _ multinational duo currently exchanging smeks. 

Sokka, Opportunistic Seductionbender:

Sokka screamed and sat back on his knees. Suki also shrieked. Then he looked up and spotted classic Katara in classic hands-on-hips disapproval and broke a new high-pitch. “Must be pretty stuffy in here” Katara scowled. Suki was still wearing her pants, at least. Her top armor was scattered across the room and she was quick to cover herself up with Sokka’s garbs. Sokka, being from the tundra, found this room even stuffier and wasn’t wearing a shirt or pants. Just his wrappings. As Katara already spoke for me, I simply bowed. “Afternoon”. A few minutes of “I’m giving you privacy to put something modest on” later, _ woah Katara, since when were you Queen of the Janitor Closet _ , they emerged. Suki was blushing quite hard on the walk back. Sokka had this look of _ please-don’t-tell-anyone _ . Lucky for him Toph wasn’t here or she definitely would. The four of us walked through the doors to the conference room. The seats remained nearly desolate, only thirty or so despite a hundred seats being put out. Not counting guards. “Why are they laughing?” Suki asked, visibly checking to see if maybe she forgot to put on her top or something. Katara revealed the zinger. “Sokka, your face is covered in red makeup kisses”. Ty Lee jumped up and yelled “aw, that’s so sweet. And he looks so cute with the makeup kisses!” and started clapping. Mai, thank the spirits for her, pulled Ty Lee back into her seat with an arm tug. Suki shot Ty Lee a death stare, Katara shot Ty Lee a _ that’s-so-wrong _ stare and Toph shot everyone a lifeless stare. 

The Colonial Decision:

Her Imperial Majesty officially continued the meeting the moment I sat down on the Consort Throne. Everyone stood and bowed to the two of us, then to Zuko, finally to Aang. I whispered to Her Imperial Majesty that maybe Katara would want to speak first. So Toph whispered back to me and I called out “Katara, you said you wanted to speak earlier, so speak!” I wasn’t going to use her formal titles -The Last Southern Waterbender, Princess to Chief Hakoda, and others- as in Her Imperial Majesty’s opinion she didn’t deserve them. Aang looked over with a mix of shock and confusion, probably something along the lines of _ why-didn’t-you-tell-me _. Katara stood, bowing to us. Her Imperial Majesty took out a metal ball and began twirling in through her fingers. 

“Your Majesty, I was thinking…” she tugged on her braid. She was quite serious and seemed on the verge of tearing up. “I spent the past couple months traveling through the Colonies with Aang, Sokka, Zuko and sometimes Iroh. The people have the best mix of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation culture. They seem quite happy. I was thinking, as they already seem to govern themselves” she looked around at the people in the room, the red-and-greens. “What if, after the war ends, we reward their unique, their new culture, with something new. What if...they got to be self governing?” The crowd transitioned from serious, respectable, faces to laughter. From Toph to the guards to the officials to the staff. Everyone except Aang’s fangirls and the Fire Nation couple. “Independence! Oh Sugar Queen, that one was funny! Wasn’t it?” Her Imperial Majesty stood up, clutching her stomach with laughter and probably because she ate too much. The crowd continued laughing. And they laughed her right off her not-a-podium in the center of the room. She was tearing up from this. “Self governing! How can you date the most traditional-minded guy in the room, no, the world, and also want a Fifth Nation? What next, a man-” and Katara shouted, silencing the whole room.

“_ Your Majesty _ ” she grit her teeth “how about we settle on a mandate?”... and the table burst into even more laughter. I spoke for Her Imperial Majesty, as I’m versed in history and she isn’t due to the whole paper and eyes situation. “Yes, a mandate. _ Master _ Katara, you do know what a mandate would lead to, right?” she shrugged. “Of course you don’t. Every past Earth King ceded land in ‘mandates’ to local governments. Every single war, from the Yellow Necks until the Protectorate could’ve been prevented if someone told one of these all-knowing fools that ceding _ your _ land over to a _ local _ power is only going to inflate the local power. Every mandate included a call for self-governance at the end. We’re lucky these vassals in name only didn’t become a Fifth Nation during the Hundred Year War. Until Her Imperial Majesty centralized the government and had traitorous nobles put in their place, every province, every town, every hillfolk bumpkin’s cottage might as well have been its own independent region”. Katara stared at me in confusion and or shock, not sure. “So…” she began, crying. I held up my hand and continued. She went back to her seat and breathed deeply. “I call upon each official to voice their opinions. Speak freely. If you agree with Katara, say so. _ You want to be something new? You get to decide. _”

One by one, the officials stood. They always started their speech the same, “I thank Your Majesty for the honor of inviting me to this meeting. Long live the Earth Queen and the Imperial Consort!” Each one proceeded to give their name and their status. Governor, administrator, garrison officer, military officer, even captains of ships. I’m not writing each of the nearly hundred odd speeches here. In general, they spoke of before and after. Of previous rule and current. How, under the Fire Nation, they were forced to pay high tax and provide troops for a levy despite the ‘Islanders’ having a volunteer -albeit peer pressured- military. The smartest men and women were taken from their homes and dragged to Caldera under orders of the Fire Lords. They were required to supply the Fire Islands with any and all weapons, vehicles and rare resources. The three cities were slowly being assimilated, the top level officials all being replaced by pureblood Fire Nationals under the pretense of a larger city needing higher-level government. Colonials might’ve built the Colonies but “had it not been for the Earth Queen”, they would’ve lost them. 

Meanwhile, under the Earth Queen, they pay little in the way of tax. They don’t provide troops for a levy, instead they are given incentives -usually monetary, not to mention promotion possibilities- for joining their own Colonial Corps, assigned with patrolling and defending _ their _ homes. They ceded much of the barren hinterland to the Earth Kingdom, but an unbroken strip of land runs from the ashen Wulong Forest to the murky Foggy Swamp. Under the rule of the Earth Queen, every city and town has doubled in size. Multiple train lines run north to south. Furthermore, women in the Earth Kingdom can go to the Colonies for education and Colonials can travel to Ba Sing Se. Now, instead of being forced to hand over their best and brightest, they voluntarily make the week-long trek to the capital to pursue careers in politics and administration. Some of these officials are female earthbenders. Each of them stated that while previously, it would’ve been impossible to work in the government without some segregation, now they can. Most of these officials have gone on tours of the Earth Kingdom, Queen-sponsored tours “for the betterment of all”, courtesy of a certain Kyoshi-loving Kyoshian, and they all mention how “the progressive Earth Queen has been completely open to our egalitarian ideas.” Some closing remarks went “in a few generations, the Colonies previously would’ve been annexed. But now, in a few generations, the beautiful culture of our homes will have spread from sea to sea”. Other’s closing remarks addressed the Avatar. “Your Holiness, please reconsider. Are we truly some evil force? We love the Earth Queen and we love who we are”. All of them ended their speech with thanks to the three world leaders for listening to them. 

Mai’s speech stood out for multiple reasons. It wasn’t prepared and it had little to do with the content of other speeches. Instead, she spoke of Azula. “I was never her friend. She just had lightning and I didn’t.” She spoke of Azula as a former friend. Mentioning her bouts of madness, her manipulation and her sadistic nature. She mentioned something none of these people ever heard before. “Azula happens to have psycho crushes on people. They just drive her to do crazier and crazier things. The only person who ever got to Azula, the Azula hidden behind the insanity, was Ty Lee. Even then, it was less of a loving crush and more of jealousy. Ty Lee could out-flip Azula. Outdoing Azula makes Azula mad and want to kill you.” Ty Lee innocently ignored all this. She finished her speech by “I promise that my boyfriend’s going to reclaim his birthright, and when he does, he’s going to be a good Fire Lord”. Then the doors burst open. All eyes turned to him. A guard shouted something incomprehensible because a different voice was shouting over him. “Did I miss the execution?” in strolled a gray two-point bearded man wearing the garb of a Fire Navy Lieutenant, either drunk, sleep deprived or a mix of the two. An attendant spoke up. “Presenting, Admiral Jee of the Colonial Navy, Protector of the Western Coast and Pacifier of Rebels”.

Zuko stopped scowling, everyone else stood and bowed. Jee strolled over to an empty seat off to Toph’s left, bowing to her and “thanks for not telling me” to me. He looked over at the Prince in his informal regalia and his eyes went wide. Clearly, he had no prepared piece of paper, so he gave an improvised one. Likewise to Mai, it had little to do with other speeches.

First he spoke of his time growing up on the main island of Fire Nation. The Fire Nation’s standardized education is far superior to the Earth Kingdom. The few downsides of the Fire Nation’s curricula is everything is heavily militarized and propagandized. Then again, so is ours. Consider what the school system produced, I’d say it was a success. He continued on to speak of his long career in the Fire Navy and his “might as well have sent me to jail” ‘assignment’ of handling one hot tempered prince. Recounting the story of their three years of chasing phantoms, spirits, having to contend with a stowaway cat-octopus, a search for shirts and many other antics. Of course, those are stories for another time and a better recorder who has firsthand accounts. 

Last year, he was taken by Admiral Zhao for the failed Siege of the North. He turned around “the second I saw that giant blue fish thing” and was one of the few ships to survive the whole “giant koi slice” counterattack. From there he was given patrol duty around Caldera, narrowly missed being annihilated by the Earth Navy and we met up with him. After dropping us off, he was given pirate-hunting duty in the former Southern Air Temple lands. When the Colonies ‘surrendered’, his crew held a vote and unanimously supported defection, possibly thanks to Iroh’s White Lotus propaganda. He went to Shirahama to help with pacification and completely missed the Comet due to where he was. As he is the highest-ranked defector behind Jeong Jeong, he was given command of the Colonial Navy and took command of the new aircraft carrier, making it his flagship. As for the White Lotus, spies say the top soldiers are trapped in the Boiling Rock prison.

After his story, he gave a speech praising the mixed military. He gave a few examples of scenarios where they’d be effective, the following is but a few. Earthbenders, both sailors and dockworkers, help ferry equipment and goods. He always “preferred Colonials for their adaptability”. As for combat, “if the Colonies weren’t captured, I wouldn’t have such an unbeatable force”. Earthbenders raise defences and create opportunities for Firebenders to attack. On the offensive, they can switch between light fast attacks or massive area of effect boulder strikes. Previously, an offensive, especially a landing, would be perilous for him. But now, he has soldiers building earth walls and pressing them forward. Earthbenders are excellent defenders. “I believe, within a generation, the Colonial Corps will possess a fighting force that comprises exemplary offense and steadfast defense. Unbreakable. _ Perfect. _ Shall Her Imperial Majesty request it, I’d be honored to lead the Colonial Corps from the halls of the Royal Palace to the farthest shores of the Western Air Temple.” He got a standing ovation for that speech. Lots of “Long live the Earth Queen!”s. 

With all officials accounted for, Zuko wanted to propose a new idea to help give “a fair, equal say” to the officials. Before he could speak, Aang stood and requested to excuse himself from the meeting for a few minutes. All things considered, if he _ was _ cracking under the pressure of having his entire worldview annihilated beneath the foot of progress, he was handling it quite well. Her Imperial Majesty pulled me over and gave me her response. I granted it for him and he stood, bowing us once more, turned and left through the massive main doors, staff left at his seat.

Members and Elective Legislation:

A short history lesson: The Grandmaster of the White Lotus isn’t a hereditary position. Instead, when the Grandmaster dies, the current Masters meet up -usually in Ba Sing Se- and cast votes on who should be the new Grandmaster. Should a tie ensue, every single White Lotus member is invited to cast their vote for one of the four Masters. As such, Zuko arose and wanted to “apply the teachings of Uncle”. Toph reclined, playing with her metal ball, and tasked me to oversee this ‘new idea’. I ordered the meeting halt and took Zuko off to a study down the hall, guards posted at the door, and went inside.

About half an hour later, we agreed on a new system. In time, it would be refined, but for now;

The current system has five Electors. We concluded that the Master-level title in the White Lotus is about equivalent to the Governor of a city. Thus, the governors of Yu Dao, Osaka and Shirahama, the General of the Colonial Corps and Admiral of the Colonial Navy would each get ten votes. Every other official present would get one vote. In total, there were only thirty five officials present. 

When we returned, the room bowing to us, Katara had walked out to go find Aang. The rules were given and each official voted. They could choose the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, independence, or pushing this off until later. A majority of the votes were for "pushing it off". The reasons given, afterwards, were "we'd like to wait until the War is over". It should also be noted these thirty five officials were the only people _ allowed _ to have power. Maybe Aang will tell us how imprisoning our enemies is bad, too. Lots of cheering and celebration ensued and the meeting ended to make way for various dinners.

Toph and I are currently relaxing in the Imperial Bedroom in Yu Dao, Suki just informed us that Aang might be paying us a visit soon “for a meeting on protecting sacred land” or something.

I really don't care, I have an Imperial Order to give Her Imperial Majesty a back massage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Consort is on the Sokka/Suki ship. Air Acolytes are canon. Ty Lee and Mai weren't grabbed by Azula this time around because Azula had a dragon and thus no need.  
What's the point of this chapter? Like much of Book 3, it sets up stuff for the (now definitely being written) sequel.
> 
> Next time, back massages and beach meetings!


	51. The Impromptu Meeting on Responsibilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Avatar goes for a walk on the beach.

HIM Entry LI:

A note to the Avatar, please stop bursting in through the door. 

Imperial Back Massages:

So Toph passed one of her Imperial Edicts in honor of the successful -she viewed it as a success- diplomacy. Sure nobody was present but it still counts. “If Her Imperial Majesty wants a back massage, she gets a back massage”. Okay I know this edict was passed before but she announced an addition: “one back massage required before bed”. So we go back to the Imperial Bedroom doors, Suki’s manning them at this point and she welcomes us back with “how was dinner?” I smiled, having recently changed into my Kyoshi Island kimono and stated “the seal tastes just like home”. I caught Toph’s wrestler outfit with my face, Suki caught her wrappings with hers, and a now towel-wearing, quite bored, “looking forward to that back rub” Queen of the eastern half of the world dove face first onto the Imperial Colonial Bed. I collected the clothes, put them down next to one of the drawers and got to work stretching my hands.

Spirits, what a back massage. For her. Credit to Kyoshi Island, men and women learn the art of giving full body massages. Something something Kyoshi something chi paths. By the end of it, my hands were sweaty. I previously learned that the secret to giving Toph a back massage is hammerfists. Lots of them. I even asked Toph for a demonstration for the intensity she’d like, so she laughed and summoned a pair of metal shackles from somewhere. She instantly chained me to the ground and started stomping the ground, hitting my back with dozens of small earth pillars. When I got up, I was sore  _ not that I said that _ . By the way, I undid Toph’s hair and gave her a hair...cleaning as a bonus, the Colonies sell some great hair moisturizer so why not try it. Only the Earth Queen could rock, pun intended because hairbending, waist-length straight hair and I’m glad to be able to help do said hair into a small bun. 

Now, if you aren’t in the know, seeing His Imperial Majesty and Her Imperial Majesty both covered in sweat while Her Imperial Majesty lay face-first wearing just a towel, her voice much more girlish and less “I’m going to break you into a million pieces”, you’d  _ probably _ think something lewd. I assure you, I was simply massaging her back.  _ Lee. I’m talking about you Lee.  _

Well the Avatar decided to invite himself to our bedroom. By invite himself, I mean he kicked open the door with airbending. Katara entered first according to Suki and saw the following sight: the two of us covered in sweat, Toph’s hair like a black carpet crossing the golden-green quilt, neither of us wearing clothes -because we were changing into our informal nightwear- halfway through a conversation about “being more intense next time”. Katara shrieked, probably covered Aang’s eyes and pulled him back out of the room. I  _ heard _ Sokka go “well if he’s doing it, why can’t I do it with Suki?” and a  _ slap _ . Katara’s shriek followed by my involuntary scream of “Guards!” because I was facing away from the door brought a wave of Royal Guards  _ in through the windows _ and immediately all of Team Avatar was surrounded. I grabbed a towel to cover my exposed bits with and walked out, hair tousled by a certain rough blind girl who was jealous of my hair-cleaning skills. Wuhan arrived, bowing to me and asked “was the Avatar causing Your Majesty trouble?” I nodded in the direction of Toph, who now put on her wrappings, and he called her and asked “did the Avatar cause you trouble during your personal business, Your Majesty?” Toph chuckled while playing with a bushel of hair that fell in front of her face. “Would you like us to execute the prisoners?” he said, treating them like invaders. Katara screamed, Sokka brandished his club, Zuko backed up in the direction of the nearest  _ I-can-jump-out-this _ window and Aang  _ smiled _ . “No, he didn’t do anything. Can he please knock next time” I responded, cutting off Toph. Because I  _ knew _ , judging by Toph’s  _ I'm-embarrassed _ face, she’d probably want them all executed for hearing her talk like a young woman. The guards relaxed and I dismissed them all while Suki sheathed her fans and I slammed the bedroom door shut behind myself, citing “can I please put on pants first?” Katara was more than happy to oblige, Sokka was annoyed that they were almost tried as invaders and Zuko already made his decision and ran down the staircase. 

Aang’s quite impatient. He opened the door again while Toph and I were having a wrestling match. Sure we were wearing our wrappings but it’s still a personal thing the two of us do. Toph agrees to not use her earthbending unless she’s losing and I agree to not sweep her off her feet once every five seconds. It’s pretty fair. This time, as with most, we were wrestling on the bed itself. He yelled “why are you two doing that and not getting dressed?” which only attracted Katara and Sokka to stick their heads through the ajar door, see the two of us, and side with him. I shot them all death glares and Toph yelled “we were just wrestling!” and had Suki close the door. She kissed Sokka then swiped his leg out from under him and Katara went to scold him for making out with Suki while she’s guarding the Earth King. As for Aang, she politely asked him to leave, so he did. Zuko was probably in the darkest corner of the hallway, the best tempered of the four. Oh, and there’s Momo, who decided that he could join the wrestling competition. The door opened again and Aang ran around our bedroom chasing Momo. 

A Walk Through Yu Dao:

Whenever we felt like leaving later, we joined Team Avatar “for a walking discussion” around Yu Dao. Ming and I did Toph's hair as she likes it and I took my scabbard along. Night cast Yu Dao in a new light as the city lit up with lanterns and candles. Zuko had to keep his palms lit as he was complaining of the cold the whole time. Aang could firebend so he was fine. The rest of us were walking around in kimono tunics except Toph who wore her wrestler outfit. Suki joined us while the rest of the Bannermen stayed in the Palace.

Citizens saw the two of us and would part way automatically, but I called out for Toph that “we don’t want special treatment tonight!” which earned cheers. Much to Aang’s chagrin, passersby on the main road insulted him for “where were you when Yu Dao burned?” He stuffed his hands in his sleeves and went “do these people never forgive or forget? I can’t defend everyone”. Toph laughed, though. “Well, no, they don’t forgive or forget. That’s why, unless Kyoshi’s lying to me, all these posters read ‘Don’t Forget Yu Dao’ or something like that” and she pointed at a pole. She walked up to it, ran her hand along until finding a poster and _tore it in two _while pulling it off. I gestured at a different poster so we gathered facing that one while Toph walked around tapping metal poles.   


The poster I grabbed had an image of me, standing proudly on a boulder, facing the right side of the image. In my right hand, my jade-hilted jian blade. A single drop of blood, shaped like the teardrop Fire Nation emblem, dripped off the end. Beneath me, an Earth Navy cruiser firing a projectile, and behind me in the background, an army of Colonials march off to the right side of the poster, wielding flaming fists or earth discs. Above me, a squadron of biplanes. The subtitle: "Never Forget Yu Dao!"

Aang grabbed the poster and he, Sokka and Katara looked it over. They collectively remarked that in their travels they’ve seen many more posters like this. Zuko quipped “maybe all the war propaganda doesn’t help” which made Toph hit him in the foot with an earth pillar. 

Aang raised his hands and halted Zuko from the urge to regain his honor and trying to stop Toph from continuing. Sokka mentioned “and where are the rest of us, by the way?” directing the question at me and the wall of posters. I shrugged. “These are recruitment ads for the Colonial Corps and Earth Kingdom Military. It makes sense they’d include the heroes of the Earth Kingdom”.

Modernization versus Tradition:

We finally reached the beachfront and sat back on the sand. A deathly cold sea breeze blew in.  _ Winter is arriving _ . Toph feigned blindness to use the excuse to get close to me -then again she’s always been weak with sand- while Suki stood vigilant behind us. Aang revealed the real reason for having a meeting with us: “Your factories are desecrating Air Nomad holy sites”. I was about to begin speaking but Toph boomed out “and so what?” 

Thus began an argument between the two. Aang begged Toph to “consider removing your factories”, Toph told him “no, it won’t happen”, I asked “why” and Suki patrolled around. He claims to have two reasons. One, “the sacred lands are meant to maintain balance between the Spirits and humans” and two, “because the last time a monarch modernized a country so quickly, Sozin started the Hundred Year War and while-”. Being compared to Sozin made Toph jump out of her comfortable position and grab Aang with a fist of sand. 

I heard an uncorking sound and got as far back as I could, tripping over a sand dune in the process. “Twinkletoes, how dare you compare me to Sozin?” she screamed. Aang broke himself free with his own earthbending, now short of breath, and went “I wasn’t, you just interrupted-” but was interrupted by another sandy fist. Zuko backed off in an opposite direction. Aang blew the fist apart with airbending, sending a gale our way. Toph rooted herself in the sand while Suki and I covered our eyes and ducked to the ground. 

“Your...Earthliness!” he began, trying to concentrate on keeping Toph back with his staff while also speaking. “Please accept my apology, I didn’t mean to compare you to Sozin.” “Well...continue then!” I shouted out. “I wanted to warn you that if this progress gets into the wrong hands, we could face another Sozin” and he stopped the airbending and sat down cross-legged. If nothing else, he's always the first one to disarm.  


Toph stopped her grabby sand fists and lied down in the sand, kicking up small sand tides with her feet while she rubbed sand in her hair. _So much for cleaning_. I thought what he said through and asked him a question. “So, you’re against modernization. What would you have us do?” He stood up and went “tear down your factories.” Toph laughed. “It’s not happening.” “Do you know how many people will die because of your weapons of war? Thousands of-” he walked over to us and looked down at Toph, planting his staff in the ground. I countered. “Thousands? Hundreds of thousands. What’s your point?” “As the Avatar, it’s my job to maintain peace and keep people safe. Developing more efficient ways of killing someone is as far from my job as possible”. Toph grabbed me and had me speak for her, as she was busy rolling around coating herself in sand. 

“And we’re currently fighting a massive war. Would you prefer the Fire Nation gets their hands on our weapons?” Zuko raised his eyebrow. Aang maintained his composure. “I’d prefer nobody had their hands on weapons. It’s my destiny to-” but he got a face full of sand. “Destiny shmestiny” Toph threw up her hands. Aang was quite annoyed at this statement. “It  _ was _ my destiny to end the Hundred Year War”. Zuko piped in from his position reclining on a stone seat. “It  _ was _ . It’s not, is it?” Aang spun around and yelled over to him. “Well, if the Earth Queen hadn’t killed Ozai I might’ve been able to”. Toph determined  _ now _ was a good time to get up, riding a sand dune. “With what, your staff of friendship? He was about to kill you.” Aang formed a triangle between Zuko and Toph. The cold sea breeze picked up in intensity. _Wait, can the Avatar turn air into cold air using airbending and waterbending?_ “Then my next life would’ve-” I screamed out “wait!” and he looked at me. “No, your responsibility was to fight Sozin”. “How would you know that?” I took my fingers and whistled. Then I did it again. And again. Everyone shot me  _ what-are-you-doing _ glances, and nothing happened. He changed the conversation. “All these weapons will cause more suffering in the long run”. “And I don’t care” Toph replied. She walked right up to his face and yelled at him. “I’m going to end the war where the Avatar failed to”. Aang stepped back a few feet. “As the Avatar, I’m threatened by all this!” and he pointed at the dockyards off to the north, a low grinding noise signified their current status. “So what do you want us to do? Destroy everything and let you peacefully take down Azula?” he threw up his hands in approval. “Finally! Yes! I want to protect the future by stopping all this now! And with your help, we could imprison Azula with metalbending!” Toph laughed. “The Fire Nation isn’t run by Azula.” “But defeating Azula-” Zuko stood up. “We defeated Ozai. Nothing happened” he said coldly. “So you think the only solution is…” his voice went quiet. “Invading the Fire Nation!” and Toph jumped up all amused. “Haven’t we tried this before?” Sokka appeared, scratching his three chin hairs. 

Slowly but surely, Aang’s entire argument for trying to keep the peace was derailed by Toph, Zuko and I discussing how to properly end the Hundred -and one- Year War. “You know anything about this new Fire Lord guy?” “Father held him in high regard.” “With the combined effort of all these bending masters-” Aang tried jutting in. “Wouldn’t your sis just fill him with lightning?” “Nah she’s lost it” “Excuse me, Fire Lord, Earth Queen-” Aang, again, tried jutting in. To no avail. “This time, promise you won’t betray us” “I’ll try” “That’s good enough for me” “Fire Lord-in-exile, can we talk about the whole civilian casualties-” _No, Aang. _“So you have a giant artillery piece” “Yup” “So let’s use that giant artillery piece?” “Yup”. “Earth Queen, progress isn’t always good-” “So I’ve seen that Siege Cannon fired, it’s pretty massive” “Yup, and you’re talking to the only person who use it, alone. I’m just  _ that _ good” and she kissed her fists. “Your Earthliness, can you tell the Earth Queen that progress is meant to be  _ peaceful _ ” “So last time we fired it, we made a mountain vanish” “It’d be terrible if you had to use that against my people” “They ain’t your people yet” “But still-” “Hey you want to win this war or not? I’ve got a bunch of giant siege weapons. Let’s blow something up!” And she walked off towards the city. Suki and I gave chase to her. 

Aang didn’t give up. While the three of us walked down the main road, he flew past us on a airscooter. “Your Earthliness, the holy sites!” she stuck her hand up and pushed him off his airscooter. “Are my land” and she continued walking. “Your Earthliness, how about we-” now  _ I  _ got in front -well, to her side- and blocked Aang off. “Can I speak to Her Imperial Majesty for a second,  _ alone _ ?” and I grabbed her shirt and walked into a one floor tavern. The upstairs of this once-house still has a large hole in one of the bedrooms. Aang, a man of his word, stayed back and watched through the windows. 

“It’s the One-Eyed Badgermole!” the owner put down his mug and shouted. The ten or so patrons stood, cheering. They had no barstools, instead the patrons all sat at a dining room table and the owner worked in the attached kitchen. The stone walls featured  _ The Queen at the Jasmine Dragon _ along with a black-and-white poster-sized painting of a young man bearing a three-pointed beard and a topknot with Fire Nation pin. The owner stepped forward, bowing. “I’m beyond honored that Her Imperial Majesty graces my presence!” the elderly man bore the same wide facial structure as the painting. “Private room?” I blurted out. “Upstairs, first door on the right.” 

We reached the bedroom,  _ his _ bedroom. A bed with sheets and a blanket, two simple drawers, an old nightstand and a dao blade were all in the way of furniture he had. “So, what did you want?” Toph finally spoke up as we sat down on the bed. “Let’s just give him the approval to go speak to whoever the local factory owners are.” “Why? He wants to destroy our factories!” she punched the blanket. “What harm can he do? We relocate one or two factories and he stops bugging us” I figured that was a reasonable trade. “What happens if he goes further,  _ Kyoshi _ ? His fangirls are running around  _ my  _ land talking treason!” “Toph” and I put my hands on her shoulders to  _ try _ and calm her down to avoid destroying this fine man’s establishment. “Let’s give up a few factories. The two of them can go travel the Colonies playing world leader. Keeps ‘em out of our hair” and, with the most intense patriotic voice I could muster, “our progress.” Toph sat back and thought it through. Then she broke into laughter. “You know,  _ Kyoshi _ , this is why I keep you around!” and she punched me in the shoulder. We thanked the bar owner, he bowed once again, and we walked back outside. Suki remained at the doorway, vigilant as ever. 

I didn’t clearly state this to her, but for future reference: Avatar Aang is a very driven man. Especially in the name of peace. The Avatar is also borderline vilified by the Colonies and Earth Kingdom. I figured that he’d be distracted by his border drawing -and subsequent conflict with the locals- to notice the mustering of the Imperial Host for one final push against the Fire Nation. Last time we let him have any say in a military campaign, even tangentially, the man-for-man best navy in the world was torched. 

“Twinkletoes!” Toph shouted, stomping the ground to search for him. From  _ somewhere _ , he yelled “I’m coming!” and a loud whoosh sound signaled something else. He landed right in front of us, Katara hanging on to him. Apparently, the two chose to sit atop someone’s red shingled roof to watch the moonrise -a blood red moon sat above the eastern peaks- and talk about some Princess’s birthday. 

“Your Earthliness, have you reconsidered-” Toph  _ shoved  _ me forwards, a polite -for Toph- cue to speak. “Her Imperial Majesty has approved giving Your Holiness a document, marked with the Imperial Seal, for ‘assisted relocation’ of ‘buildings that obstruct Air Nomad holy sites as determined by de jure laws’” and I bowed. Aang charged up an air scooter and took off, whooping and cheering. Toph stood behind me, smirking. Katara bowed to both of us and offered lots of gratitude. 

Returning to the Colonial Palace, we met Sokka and Zuko in the lobby and just missed something so sad it caused Zuko to go “that’s rough, buddy” while  _ sipping tea _ . The guards bowed and Wuhan asked how our walk was. “It was quite good, Captain” I raised a finger, smiling. “Oh, it was sooo romantic” Toph said in a mock Katara tone, what with the emotion and such. The actual Katara stood there, hands on hips, but chose not to comment for once. Speaking of, Aang arrived shortly after, previously racing around the city in celebration and ran up the wall to meet us in our own bedroom before we could return to it. He joined me at my study while Toph reclined on our bed, picking her toes. Katara stayed outside, Sokka and Zuko were still talking about tea or strategy or something downstairs. 

_I, the Imperial Consort to Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen, give permission for His Holiness the Avatar_ _to enforce de jure laws from the time of Avatar Roku.   
_

I had to keep the wording vague because Aang was looming over me during the writing and I knew if I tried to restrict him that’d make the whole plan pointless. I stamped it with the Imperial Seal and date and we were thanked many times. “What a wonderful coincidence, Your Earthliness. This proclamation was written on Princess Yue’s birthday!” The Princess Yue he mentioned is the same Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe. Oh the irony of a ‘peaceful’ proclamation being signed on a day that brings back memories of blinding blizzards and what happens to those who refuse to submit to the Earth Queen. 

Aang asked to hold a celebratory midnight feast in honor of this proclamation. The two of us yawned simultaneously but nodded because as Toph put it “hey, there’s probably whiskey”. Aang and Katara departed to their Guest House, arms interlocked, while we reclined in our bedroom and toyed with getting dressed or not getting dressed. I filled in the toe-picker on who Princess Yue was and Toph broke into laughter. “Does he know?” she sat up, referring to the fate of the Northern Water Tribe. “He does not”. She laughed even louder. “Good, let’s keep that for the future.” “When in the future?” she asked while earthbending her hair into its usual bun. “Map slicing time!” I said cheerfully. “What’s ‘Map Slicing Time?’ It sounds amazing!” and she joined me in cheering. “Every war in history ends with the winners taking whatever they can from the looters. So I figured we’d do some map slicing-” but I was interrupted with my other pants tossed at my face. “Later, later. Now let’s go get hammered!” and she punched open the door and her extra-loud footsteps echoed. 

I emerged a few minutes later in my Informal Robes with scabbard. Suki escorted me down to the Colonial Palace’s Dining Room. It was an auditorium sized room, able to seat a hundred easy. Instead, the seven of us gathered in one corner. The attendants and chef were surprised  _ not that surprised _ that we were eating a midnight meal. An eighth person invited herself. One of the Royal Guards ran in through the far-from-us main door, bowed and announced “A woman calling herself Mai would like to visit! Orders, Your Majesty?” Zuko put his utensils down and yelled five Consort’s feet over to Toph “that’s…” and his voice suddenly died “my girlfriend” he whispered as quiet as the night. Or maybe death. “Let her in!” Toph counter-shouted, as she’s never to be outdone. 

Dressed in red-and-black with tawny eyes and long black hair, Lady Mai was both creepy and attractive, if you’re into that. But Zuko’s eye lit up. He definitely  _ was  _ into that. She sat to the left of Zuko, who sat to the left of Sokka, who sat to the left of an empty seat, which sat to the left of myself. Toph was to my right, we shared the head of the table, then Katara to hers, and finally Aang on her right. The night chef scraped together a meal of smoked fish, which appeased five-eighths of the table. Actually, Suki doesn’t count as despite being a massive fish eater she was currently standing guard. Zuko and Mai asked for something spicier and Aang was easy to please; a shipment of cabbages arrived. Food was devoured with various levels of cleanliness and utensil use. The chef’s aide asked what we’d like for  _ drinks _ . Katara could only look on with annoyance as Toph and I ordered “the hardest stuff” they’ve got. Zuko and Mai chose ‘wine’, an absolute disgrace. The rest, a bunch of weaklings, ordered water which isn’t a ‘drink’ it’s water. Next thing I remembered was waking up to write all this. Toph’s ordering us to go to Ba Sing Se to begin plans for the “Invasion to end all Invasions”, as she wants to dub it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, return to Ba Sing Se as the finale begins!


	52. How Ba Sing Se Has Changed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Return to Ba Sing Se! For every piece of future-proofing there's going to be a poetry club where marriage is defined by pouring a girl tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A THOUSAND HITS. WHAT. (explodes).

HIM Entry LII:

Coated in snow, Ba Sing Se looks more like a type of pastry than the world’s largest and wealthiest city. 

The Serpent’s Junction:

Around midday, the three of us departed by Imperial Carriage -a truck- to the train depot in Yu Dao. Wuhan and the rest of the Royal Guard were coming in successive carriages. Toph wore her wrestler outfit, I my Imperial Armor with scabbard and Suki her Kyoshi Warrior armor with all her accessory weapons. Aang and Katara left that morning on Appa to go...somewhere. Probably Loban's factory. Toph ordered me to order courtiers to invite Sokka, Zuko and Mai to come to the Capital. As they aren’t us, they don’t get to take our private Carriage. The Imperial Carriage, the train one, was populated by just the three of us and the Royal Guards who arrived a few minutes later. Not to mention the rest of our train being artillery positions and other defensive positions loaded with fortified earth discs. Plus the top and sides of our Carriage were made of metal. Earthbenders make loading things quite easy. Horns sounded and I drifted off to sleep.

A week of time passed where we could do little more than mill about. I had lots of time to write down the past...two months or so of events from Sozin’s Comet until the present, compiling hastily written records I wrote at the time with the events directly following it. The train kept slicing through tunnels as it travelled east. Cutting through wilderness. Hidden montane lakes, hundreds of miles of spruce forest and jagged peaks, a sun that barely rose from behind the ridgeline and sometimes, snowfall. The earthbenders had to switch shifts twice as often when plowing us through a snowstorm. At night, the tiny Earth Kingdom outpost’s few lights would twinkle like low hanging stars amidst a sea of darkness. Sometimes, I’d spot a distant light out in the middle of the forest. A hunting cabin. If nothing else, looking up, the salmon scar -when it wasn’t cloudy- was a sight to behold. We stretched our legs occasionally, getting out in the middle of a valley to give Toph an excuse to roll around in the local dirt and have a makeout session with it while I looked up at the stars at night or took a dip in a hidden lake during the day. These lakes lack names. As such, the first lake I took to reclining upon Wuhan named with a rock sign bearing huge letters.  “Welcome to Hidden Kyoshi” and “named by” followed by a sign twice as large with all of Toph’s titles and my titles, thankfully in smaller letter size. Looking at this lake gave me inspiration for the future._ I'll take my heirs out here for a vacation from the hustle of Ba Sing Se. The plentiful number of deer-moose and complete lack of civilization make this land perfect for hunts. And I'll keep it that way._   


Mid-day three afternoon, we reached the foothills of the Makapu Range. The mountains drifted away from us, became rounded, then vanished entirely. 

The massive plain country was skippable. It lacked the beautiful lakes, the stunning vistas, the sharp valleys and spiked peaks of the mountains. What it didn’t have in nature, it had in villages and towns. Roughly four or five times a day, we’d come upon a train station in a village as opposed to a tiny outpost. We never stopped, except for soldiers to switch off. Traveling along the plains, though, I often found the train running right alongside someone’s farmland. Every single time we did, the horns sounded to let the sweaty sunburnt peasants see us. Men and women of all ages put down their harvest baskets and bowed. They were dressed in greens and yellows. All wore straw hats. Toph and I would open the windows to allow people to see us. In the villages, the entire community would pour out to kowtow. A dozen different accents wished us well. Many were prayers. Many more were gratitude for even seeing us.  


Reaching the once Serpent’s Pass, Wuhan notified us of  _ traffic _ . What was once a hidden dangerous crossing was renamed “The Serpent’s Junction” and was now a small town. Looking over as we arrived in the queue for the station, a street with food stalls next to tailors next to taverns. Multistory houses packed around a massive road five trucks head-to-rear wide. At the moment, the street was mostly empty. The Junction itself hosted ten train lines “taking you anywhere and everywhere” according to the condutor. In reality, it was a set of routes going direct to each city, followed by extra, that is, multiple lines, routes to Omashu, Yu Dao and Gaoling.

The Serpent’s Pass itself was mostly demolished, the once one jagged ridgeline divided in two with the remains forming a natural wall for the road. Off to the far right, ferries sailed up and down East Lake. Beneath us, four moored IEN junks lowered their sails “probably as a salute” to us. Afterall, the Carriage might be made of metal but it was still painted in the Imperial Sigil. 

Reaching the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se, the ramparts were decorated. Every, oh, a hundred feet? An artillery piece pointed outwards and upwards, almost as if it was going to lay siege to the sun behind us. They appeared to go on forever. Probably did. Furthermore, the Wall was decorated with many more flags. The tunnel we go through to bore into the Agrarian Zone is covered in Imperial Flags. Off to our left, the Southern Gatehouse was transformed into a massive checkpoint with multiple small walls for defense, funneling the nonexistent crowd through tight security. Above the Gate, a sign.   


_ Welcome to Ba Sing Se _

_ Agrarian Zone-Southern Gate   
_

_ Eternal Capital of the Earth Kingdom _

_ Long Live the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Years!  _

I was able to read this sign as our train had to halt due to traffic from security checks. The train in front of us was filled with passengers commuting to work in the factories in the Agrarian Zone. To either side of us were more train lines. Four with trains waiting to go in, five on the other side empty. Occasionally a train would zoom by, the earthbenders kicking up a dust cloud in their wake. After a few minutes, we finally got to the Outer Wall’s security. The Home Guard saw us and bowed, or at least that’s what I was told as I was writing down chapter entries at the time. “Your Majesty, the Commander of the Outer Wall’s Southern Gate wishes to come aboard to wish us greetings” Wuhan shouted from down the aisle. “Sure, let him in!” Suki responded for me. 

In strolled a  _ woman _ dressed in the garb of an officer, her hat removed to reveal brown hair and similarly brown eyes. She proceeded to kowtow and greet us -well actually just Toph- with a “Welcome home, Your Imperial Majesty. I’m honored to be named the new Commander of the Outer Wall’s Southern Gate” Suki and I bowed back. “It’s quite a  _ high _ honor” Suki quipped back.  _ I think she’s taking too many quip tips from Sokka _ . I remembered to recite a speech. “When Banished Prince turned Crown Prince turned ex-Prince turned claimant Zuko comes through, don’t arrest him for war crimes. He's an ally today. He's got a scar, talks about honor, has a girlfriend who dresses in shades of black.” The woman nodded. “Anything else, Your Majesty?” I looked over to Toph and awaited a response. Then I recalled its not like she’d notice me looking. So I coughed to catch my breath. “Anything else?” and I nudged Her Imperial Majesty’s shoulder. I looked back at the officer or Commander or whatever this woman is. “Nope, Her Imperial Majesty’s asleep”. “Why are her eyes open?” the Commander asked asked.  I gave the first response that came to mind. “She doesn’t  _ see _ a reason to close them?”   


It was on that day that the Commander learned that Toph is blind. She begged for mercy, expecting to be executed for not knowing this, but I just laughed instead. Suki and I bowed back to her and dismissed her with congratulatory remarks.

Just as we started grinding again, Toph flailed her hands about . “I knew you were pretending to sleep!” I said as if this was some intelligent conclusion. “Okay so what if I was? I’m bored of speaking to people!”  _ None of us have had a conversation with anyone other than us, Wuhan and the conductor for the past week. _ “And I’m not into conversations!” and she went back to toe picking. 

The Lower Ring, the Center of Production:

The Agrarian Zone was  _ mostly _ the same as I remember it. Large expanses of farmland stretching forever off into the distance, nestled like a valley between the massive Outer and Inner Wall. The Factory Quadrant expanded many times over since I last saw it. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t just factories upon factories. One 'factory' would have a whole neighborhood dedicated to it. Taverns and restaurants would sit across the street while factories and warehouses sat on their own side of the street. Train lines separated off from ours and snaked  _ through _ the factories while we remained a few hundred feet above. As every block had one side with the factories and warehouses, and the streets were back to back so two sets of factories sat adjacent to each other, carriages could bring in supplies and workers quickly. The train carriage in front of us split into multiple pieces, two went to the left and followed a line into a factory. Two went to the right and did the same thing. The rest continued forwards. The train in front of us stopped at the train stations. There  _ was  _ a line reserved for military personnel, but Toph didn’t mind taking it slow to “let the people with eyes see the sights”.

Going into the Inner Wall, Dai Li agents were responsible for searching the trains. Someone screamed and as if out of nowhere a platoon of Royal Guards poured in to defend Her Imperial Majesty. Suki and I traded glances of a “huh?”. Looking out the window, the Dai Li were dragging a man with their rock gloves, dressed in a green and yellow robe down an aisle. The train stations were built  _ into _ the wall. As such, all guard facilities were also built into the walls. Toph stomped the ground and due to the trains being in contact with earth, was able to tell us, “they’re taking him into a room over there!” and pointed in the direction of...rock. Just rock.  Two Dai Li agents walked in and bowed. They explained that “the cause for traffic” was due to a man being arrested for “conspiracy against the monarchy. He is a wanted ringleader” They assured Toph that “he will spill his conspirators”. They apologized for the holdup, backed up, bowed, and departed.   


My eye went wide upon seeing the Lower Ring again. Due to traffic, we slowed down enough to get some clear looks at the city. Where do I begin? The Lower Ring looked cramped when I first traveled through it, but now? It’s as if someone took every building and placed a copy of it upon itself. Walls of blocky houses. Identical blocky houses. Many tall -anything taller than three stories- buildings had no balconies, instead slots for windows to look across the street into someone else’s window. Despite being the middle of the day, Suki stated “there’s something eerie about all this”. And she’s right. On closer inspection, the top portion of the buildings were empty. There were no windows. No clotheslines. No flags, potted plants, toys. No decorations. “So what do you think, Your Majesty?” Suki asked, equally awestruck. “They’re empty because nobody lives in them yet. Ten earthbenders can probably build one of these multistory buildings in one day, right?” That was the response I came up with. And in retrospect, that’s exactly what happened. 

Due to Her Imperial Majesty’s “let’s do a hundred years of catchup in one” set of edicts, people from across the country came to Ba Sing Se. But they lacked housing as the Lower Ring, already packed, couldn’t support tens of thousands of newcomers. They were partially offset by thousands of refugees returning to their homes due to the set of military successes. Plus, there's all the free houses from soldiers who marched off on one of Fong's absolutely genius frontal charge offensives that cost us ten thousand men and get us one mountaintop. As such, the new Minister of Transportation, as the previous one was executed for pissing off the Earth Queen, set out to fix this crisis. His solution? Take the masses and make them work. Earthbenders were given a monetary benefit, five copper pieces a day, for working in construction. Thousands of Lower Ringers signed up. Practically overnight, a wall of houses popped up. Far more than were needed. Thus the deserted houses. In expanding the city skywards, he future-proofed it. 

Looking past the buildings and down the streets, there’s something else to mention. They were much wider than before. According to the Minister, many people had to be relocated “to make the roads suitable for larger amounts of traffic”. Some twentieth of the city was displaced temporarily. The Dai Li made the transitionary period nice and quiet. They then relocated into the new housing complexes. 

As for the streets themselves, they were demarcated for various means of traffic. Most of the road on either side contained pushcarts and foot traffic. Excluding invisible back alleys; tertiary, or side streets could support one lane of carriage traffic with foot traffic on the shoulders of the road. Secondary streets supported one lane of carriage traffic going either way and main avenues supported two lanes of carriage traffic going either way. On main streets, vendors were scattered on the sidewalks while restaurants and tea-houses competed for customers. The main roads had low-hanging poles on either side, to which lanterns would be affixed in the evening.

Stopping at one train station, I got a look at some Lower Ringers up close and personal. They noticed our carriage and  _ all _ bowed out of respect. Some cheered. Most people were busy trying to get from somewhere to somewhere else. 

Gone were the dirty brown garbs of refugees or waistbands made out of ripped clothes. The new Lower Ringers wore tunics and robes. The clothes were far from extravagant, but they had much more variety. They were uniformly well-maintained. In addition to single colored robes, yellowish green kimono tunics could be seen clashing with dark red undershirts. Brown vests and green shirts. Bright greens tunics with green trim and worn with lapels. Occasionally, men would be spotted wearing a milk-white robe lavished with gold trim. As it was soon to be winter, most people at the train station were wearing cloaks in various shades of green, green with simple red patterns, and dark red. Many men opted for doing their hair into a topknot, held together with a cloth tie. Some women tied back their hair, some braided it. Waistbands were made of a dark almost-black green. For pants, they came in brown, green and red. Even the simplest dresses were lavish compared to the refugee garb that came before. 

When we got to the Middle Ring, Toph spontaneously went “let’s get off here!” and jumped out of her seat. The rest of us turned to her with confusion. “Your Majesty, we were expecting to, you know, go home and get some clothes.” I said to her, bowing. “Well I want to get off here!” and she walked over towards the door. “Can you at least wait until we reach a train station?” Suki asked with a voice of  _ is-she-about-to-dive-out-the-window-please-in-the-name-of-Toph-don’t _ . Then Toph broke the door down with her face and dived out the window. “Well, she used the door” I said as Wuhan shouted “Halt the train!” and grabbed the side of the train and groaned  _ really _ hard, slowing the train down, sending us all flying forwards. A few seconds and one bump later, the train stopped. “Where is she?” Suki called out, looking through the window. We found out very quickly as  _ the opposite side’s door blew off with a headbutt _ and Toph walked in. “I’ll be grabbing this!” and she summoned two of the Dai Li’s rock gloves to hoist me and drop me on a slide she fashioned. “Safe flying!” she shouted, diving off in a different direction. “No, no, no-” but my feet came out from under me and I went down a circular slide, screaming all the way as I kept turning around one of the rail line’s structural pillars, the houses getting ever closer to eye level, before being deposited on sand. Getting up, Toph was standing  _ in front of me _ , hands on hips, laughing. “Oh, you-” but I got a punch to the shoulder knocking me back down, followed by her hand pulling me back up. Behind Toph, eyes turned to us, some looked up at the monorail line as if for affirmation, some fixated on my armor, all went wide. “The Earth Queen!” a man standing some twenty feet behind Toph shouted, bowing. _What, are you related to easily-excited-guy from back home on the island?  
_

The Middle Ring, the New Rich: 

A platoon of Royal Guards jumped out, Suki going with Wuhan, and made earth pillars to land on and lower themselves down. “Never. Do. That. Again” Suki muttered. The rest of the Royal Guard were giving us this  _ thank-the-Earth-Queen-Toph’s-all-right _ look. Now up and walking about, Toph took my hand and dragged me off towards a side street. Civilians leaned out of windows, took their heads off their playing boards and some spat out their tea. People were pointed at us and shouting “The Earth Queen’s here!”, which only attracted  _ more _ eyes. Soon, a massive crowd appeared and kowtowed. “We love you, Your Majesty!”, “Long live the Earth Queen!”, “The Tyrant Toppler has arrived!” and many other titles, both real and Sokka-like. The guards formed a circle around us, Wuhan and Suki standing to our sides. As Toph dragged me forward like a little girl who just found a carnival game she wants to compete for, the guards moved forward as a single entity. The crowd made a path for us and automatically gave us distance. “Where. Are. You. Going?” I asked, knowing full well the answer is “I was bored”. “I’m bored of sitting on a train, let’s go for a  _ walk _ ”.  _ Yup _ . I pulled myself out of her tight grip and looked around as she -in fast pace- walked forwards. 

Most Middle Ringers were dressed with embroidered tunics or robes. All their clothes bore gold trim and some wore gold patterns. Green with red patterns was the main choice of wear though green-on-green was also prevalent. All the men wore topknots with little green headpieces in the shape of an earth coin. Their waistbands also bore decorate earth coin centerpieces. What was more surprising about them, though, was that many of them carried dao scabbards. Under the old monarchy, carrying a weapon in Ba Sing Se was forbidden due to the “no war within these walls” rules. But now? Men  _ and women _ could be seen carrying dao scabbards. Speaking of women, when the local garrison -a mix of spear wielders and earthbenders- came to guard a path for us as first-line security, roughly one out of every three of them was a woman. And amidst the crowd and accompanying houses, lots of women shouted “thank you, Your Majesty!” as Toph passed. People came out of their houses bearing flags and waved them. She walked down the cleared road with a massive grin. 

Trucks had to pull into the alleyways to get out of our way. Ahead of us, there was lots of traffic. I counted ten trucks having to make a coin-turn -hard to do in a truck- and drive off to find an alternate route. 

Walking down the street gave us an opportunity to look around at the Middle Ring. Unlike the Lower Ring which appeared to have morphed into endless walls of housing complexes, the Middle Ring retained its two story charm. Most of the buildings here have had gold trim added to their green exterior. The houses appear to be the same from the front but as we passed along alleyways, parking spaces for loading depots. The Middle Ring retains its many canals and parkland. The crowd dispersed at our command and went back into their shops. People still looked out of windows waving flags and cheering us. 

Later on, I would learn that the Middle Ring has boomed since the “hundred years in one” edicts were set forth. One might think that the massive Factory Quadrant would make them obsolete, but it’s the opposite. Many of these Middle Ringers  _ owned _ the restaurants that served the workers of the factories. The ones that owned artisan industries were able to expand their workforce with the influx of skilled laborers from the Colonies. While the Lower Ring didn’t purchase one thousand gold piece plates or cups, the King of Omashu and Governors of the Colonies certainly did. All these new Magistrates needed to show off their affluence as the new Magistrate of Ye or Te or Zhou or Bing-Bing or something like that. Within a few weeks of being made, all sorts of goods can be transported by train to the major cities. From there, by truck or carriage to the minor town centers. 

The artisans aren’t the only ones to benefit, however. Many of Ba Sing Se’s finest restaurants are conveniently located next to the preexisting train stations. Wealthy Colonials, who previously couldn’t even  _ travel _ to Ba Sing Se due to the Hundred Year War, dine alongside people in Omashuan dress and the floral patterns of Gaoling. And while most of the profits go to the business owners, a large purse is set aside for the Earth Queen. And there’s a lot of fine restaurants. Next to the restaurants are houses that have been converted into inns for the wealthy individuals that come to Ba Sing Se to enjoy the Middle Ring’s amenities. 

Having had enough leg-stretching, we re-boarded the Imperial Train at the next train station. From street level, the train lines towered over the rooftops. That’s probably why, just as in the Lower Ring, the train line has been expanded with more lines coming down to street level. As such, the Imperial Train was able to park itself on a side-line and we could get on without interrupting  _ much _ daily traffic. I say much because the entire city halts to let us pass.  


The Upper Ring, Modernized Nobility:

Most of the train lines’ depots lie somewhere in the Middle Ring. As such, it only took a few minutes to speedily cross the Middle Ring and enter the Upper Ring. The Upper Ring was always filled with luxurious housing. Then a dragon arrived and burned most of the residents down. The gilded villas couldn’t get much more golden. Each mansion, whether one story or three, had a large wall surrounding it. The Central Axis, once a massive paved street, was now a massive paved street with four lanes in each direction with a low meridian line bearing flags. Our train station was located to the side of the Central Axis road. The train line itself ran  _ over _ the Central Axis, cutting the street in two. There wasn’t much traffic on either side of the street, though. The few trucks driving must’ve noticed us because they all halted. Their trucks had patterns in green and gold painted on the sides. 

Stopping at the final train station, ours, the Imperial Terminal, I could sense Suki’s  _ finally _ . I yelled “we’re home!” and Toph...blew on her bangs. The conductor came in and bowed to us, Suki and I bowed back to him and the three of us along with Wuhan departed. Royal Guard lined the sides of this elegant stone-pillared station, dao on their backs, and they bowed as we passed.

Coming down to the street, Suki shouted and ran over to someone. Following her path and who she ran to, a woman in a blue kimono tunic. “A Kyoshian?” I screamed, giving chase. The woman, her hair done up with elaborate supports, eyed me in my Imperial Armor and fell backwards, cried “Forgive me, Your Majesty” and kowtowed, dirtying the bottom of her dress. I let her rise and she apologised for “Her Highness, the Captain of His Imperial Majesty’s Guard, confused me for someone else”. 

Looking back, Toph and the Royal Guard had already set off for the Palace, currently twinkling off in the distance in all its gold and terracotta glory. “Why are you wearing blue?” I asked, for at that moment I thought maybe she was a Water Tribeswoman or something of the like. “In honor of Your Majesty’s Kyoshi Islander roots”.  _ What? _ Suki looked over at me then looked back at this woman. She was wearing some kind of pink makeup, her hair was done in a wide  _ qitou _ with flower petals adorning her side and a full-length dress except instead of being light green and gold, it was light blue and gold. With the Earth Queen gone and the orange sun casting everything in a burning hue -at the time looking around I had to blink and double check I wasn’t still at Sozin’s Comet- Suki and I stepped aside and “In the name of Her Imperial Majesty, I order myself and yourself to take a night off” and the two of us laughed. 

The woman introduced herself as “Lady Yuhuan, member of the Five-Seven-Five Society”, a minor noble whose house was elevated thanks to all the new vacancies. “Would Your Majesty be interested in attending one of our meetings?” she asked, picking up her dress to bow again. Suki and I, with no clue as to what this group even was, went “sure” and the woman applauded in happiness. As this woman led us down a side street, I hoped that maybe the name “Five Seven Five” was referring to the set of shots we’d have to do and in fact this was just the name of a tavern. 

Wonderful Nighttime/Poets Exude Beauty and Grace/He Can But Only Watch:

The small villa was one of the few buildings on this street with lights on inside. Something I only just noticed while we walked was that the Upper Ring was extremely well lit. In front of every villa sat a street light. A guard, maybe  _ the _ guard spotted Suki and I and bowed out of respect. Yuhuan opened the door and a woman from inside called out. “Yuhuan arrives/A surprise to be this late/What ill befell her?” I answered her question, walking in through the doorway. And, no, it wasn’t a bar. It was a bunch of women, nine of them, sitting on yellow pillows. They wore full dresses of light blue mixed with light green and gold trim. Each dress had a different design. They were quite loose, compared to the kind of form-fitting garb someone like Katara might wear. Each one’s hair was done in a different sized  _ qitou _ with different designs on them. They stuffed their hands into their sleeves. “Just as the snow melts/The river cutting down-” and the woman yelling at Yuhuan gasped. Then the rest of them gasped. “Your…” and this middle-aged woman  _ fainted _ . The rest of the girls took out their fans and all blushed quite intensely. “Suki, what in the name of-” but she held a hand up to my mouth. “Just let the fangirls fan themselves a few minutes”.

The woman on the stage came to a few minutes later -thanks for watching her Suki- while I was sitting, legs dangling off the stage, chatting with the woman on their pillows. They sat cross-legged. Turns out, it’s a house of poetry. I should probably have figured that out when the lead woman spoke in haikus. “Madame Macmu-Ling, Master of the Five-Seven-Five Society” one of the women on the pillows stood and bowed, introducing the woman looming over me from behind. I jumped off the stage, spun around, and bowed. “I’ve heard esteemed things about this place” I said, politely. Suki shot me a  _ no-you-haven’t _ which caused the women to giggle behind me. _Suki, don't you Katara me._ Macmu-Ling had a very emotive set of eyebrows and seemed to prefer to orient her views around them. “Fortune befalls us/His Majesty and his Guard/Girls, give a good show”  _ Oh no _ . I dusted myself off and tried to keep my groan as quiet as I could. “Does she only speak in haikus?” I asked. “She speaks in haiku/Surely, those with real taste do/And how about you?” one of the women sitting on the pillows spoke up. Suki tried to keep her laughter to herself but let out a single "ha". The rest of the girls giggled. Realizing the  _ disastrous _ situation I got myself dragged into, I tried coming up with something on the fly. “Nighttime is the best...A time of peace and quiet...Those awake love it” and I smirked. _Hey, its not against the law to use the same word twice in the same_ _sentence_. The girls 'oohed’ and applauded me. “Even the Consort/Knows where the best art reclines/May we learn from him” came from Macmu-Ling.   


In the years of court/Her honor is high as peaks/Eternal prestige:

Macmu-Ling announced the poetry meeting over with  _ yet another haiku _ . Girls held side conversations murmuring stuff like “why do you think he came”. She ordered teacups brought out and some attendants came in through a side door, carrying trays with teacups on them. “And now, Your Majesty, would you care to participate in our tea ceremony?” Yuhuan asked, kowtowing. Suki nodded for me.  _ But I didn’t want to!  _ I mentally whined.  The Madame gave up her ornate yellow pillow quilted with lotus and flower designs for me to sit on. Now, I could either go into the extreme minutiae of the tea ceremony, which I don’t understand one bit, or I could just explain what happened.

I’d recommend  _ The 20th Earth King and His Quest for Tea: _ A compilation of oral traditions passed down by families in the Eastern Earth Kingdom telling of the 20th Earth King traveling the Eastern Earth Kingdom in disguise in pursuit ‘to drink from every teahouse across my domain’, or so the story goes. The  _ Prologue _ , written by some dead guy, covers the basics of the Tea Ceremony and how it has remained the same throughout the history of the Earth Kingdom. It’s a ten-page read. Of course, every single domicile in the Earth Kingdom, even if it lacks furniture, has the instruments required to make tea. 

Lots of boring formalities later, including prayers for health, every single person kowtowing to me and finally Suki pouring me tea, we drank up. Everyone else waited for me to drink first. Inspired by the Earth King, I grabbed the teapot from the hands of an attendant. The rest of the women sat in their previous formation, all eyeing me as I walked about carrying this teapot. Did I mention they were blushing? They were. Except Macmu-Ling. Yuhuan finished before the rest. So I figured “why not” and walked over to her. Without asking her first, I leaned over to pour her tea. The rest of the girls watched, their eyes having gone wide. “Oh, Her Imperial Majesty” they murmured in shock. I tipped the pot and tea trickled out. What a simple gesture. Nope. Yuhuan looked like she was about to faint. The rest of them said strange stuff like “honor of honors” and “he has graced you”. Only in later thinking-it-through did I realize they were referring to me. Because at the time, all I was doing was pouring her some tea. Yuhuan grabbed the teacup with all the vigor of me trying to hold down a cactus juice inebriated Toph who “declared war on the Water Tribes”-...and I’m just going to write the story of this event.

So one day while in the Colonial Palace, Toph fancied herself some cactus juice. To my surprise, we had some. The attendants fetched her a jar full of cactus juice and she downed it faster than one could mutter “Twinkletoes is trying to tear the town in three”. A few seconds later, the juice kicked in and she catapulted herself out of bed and into a wall, only to break the wall down with her head. “I’m declaring…” she collapsed, punching the floor and causing both of us to collapse some ten feet. “I hate swimming! If we kill the Water Tribes we’ll never have to swim again!” she threw her hands up in amusement and charged through another wall. The guards looked at me, still lying in the Imperial Colonial Bed, then at Toph, who at this point was running through a pair of Consort feet wide walls like they were Colonial paper ‘walls.’ “I’ll get her” I shouted and gave chase. Shi and Jie understood that bows  _ weren’t _ needed when the Earth Queen was enjoying cactus juice. Instead of the  _ last  _ time I gave chase, the time she was naked and returned from the day spa, this time she didn’t offer much resistance. “Oh, Kyoshi, do protect me from the Water Tribesmen!” _aw how romantic_ and she tackled me right in the chest. “Guards!” she yelled as I just got up  _ and just thought maybe my hearing was okay _ . The Three ran over. “Yes, Your Majesty?” they bowed. “I’m declaring war on the Water Tribes!” she screamed loud enough that the ground beneath us shook. “Oh...kay. Right away Your Majesty. No problem!” and Wuhan looked at me and my shaking legs. “_Please, I don't want to freeze to death_ ” he eyebrowed me. "I meant to say no, problem" I assured him. "Thank the spirits" and they backed off. The courtiers were sure to write this down, though. Because everything gets written down. “Guards!” she screamed  _ just as they left _ . They ran back in and before they could proceed with being all formal, she shouted, even louder, “burn them all!”, referring to the Water Tribesmen. As everyone knows fire beats the Water Tribes. Just ask Katara. The guards nodded, turned and ran back to their posts.   


Not that Toph cared. She declared “firebenders to be pretty neat” and  _ grabbed me _ and dragged me  _ into a wall _ but Wuhan saved me at the last second with the old “make a Consort sized hole” trick. She pulled earth discs out of nothing and began firing them at random corners of this empty bedroom we stumbled into. “I’m...going...to...burn...you!” she proudly grinned while flailing her arms about and causing the entire building to shake. Earth pillars broke through the walls and Royal Guards’ quick thinking was all that saved us from certain death by rubble. While avoiding a earth pillar to the face, Wuhan asked for a break to go get something to drink so I told him, Shi and Jie to go enjoy some drinks. A few minutes of punching earth discs into things she thought were waterbenders and a few minutes of me having to “protect her” from waterbenders by attacking imaginary targets, she collapsed from exhaustion. Some staircases were hastily rebuilt and I dropped her off in her bedroom before leaving for a whiskey.

The young woman downed the drink  _ slowly _ , gulping just as slowly and finally blushed. I was still assuming this was just an overreaction to a nice gesture so for politeness sake I said “I loved this, perhaps we could do this again”. But no, I forgot how crazy the nobles are. Yuhuan blushed  _ even more _ . I looked over at Suki with this expression if  _ did-someone-spike-her-drink-with-cactus-juice _ but Suki didn’t respond with a yes or no, just a bewildered expression. Yuhuan stood and kowtowed while the rest of the room stared at me, then her, then me, on and on, muttering “how perfect” and pleasantries like that. “Yes, Your Majesty, I am honored to fulfill you in the future!” she said on the verge of tears. “Why is she crying?” I asked, looking around the room. “She weeps in joy” came the response. “Joy for what?” Suki asked as the woman looked up from her kowtow, sat on her knees and grabbed my dangling left hand. I didn’t hear the response because this girl was busy planting a kiss on my palm. My brain had a heart attack and the rest of me was quite confused what even in the name of Toph was going on. One of the girls spoke up and my hearing finally returned. “-marriage of him to her dynasty would bring them massive honor” and that was all I needed to hear before screaming “Wait, is this all about  _ marriage _ ?” and recoiled in terror. 

Macmu-Ling kept up her smiling composure and happily exposited what was happening. “Of course, Your Majesty. Her Imperial Majesty has voiced an interest in the Imperial Consort producing heirs. In following through with court tradition, you have picked a fertile woman who has reached her eighteenth year”. Now, maybe because it was late at night, maybe because my mind only loves one woman, but all I could respond with was “fertile...what? Why?” The woman in question blushed intensely. “So, you’re telling me I just married a woman because I poured her tea?” The rest of them gasped in confusion, like ‘how could the Imperial Consort not know all these rules’ or something. “Yes, Your Majesty. Would you like to take her back to the bedchambers-”. “No. No. Nope.” and I bowed, turned around and walked away. Just before leaving, I turned around to try and console the young woman “nobody told me this rule, by the way”. They all gasped, again. “How could you not know the rules, you are the Imperial Consort!” Yuhuan screamed. “You  _ do _ know to whom I am married, correct?” The girl responded, crying. “Of course, Your Majesty. Her Imperial Majesty. The greatest woman of this generation. The songs tell of her courtliness and etiquette.” “Well, Her Imperial Majesty breaks all the-” Suki banged me on the shoulder and whispered a few words. “Remember, she’s a goddess”.  _ That _ sunk in. I coughed to catch my breath. “I meant to say, Her Imperial Majesty has personally forbade me from studying the rules and thus I cannot follow them as I must practice for leading the Imperial Armies to victory!” and surprisingly, the girl stopped crying. “Forgive me, Lady” and she wiped away her tears. “No, forgive  _ me _ . I should have known better. Your Majesty has spent the past months at war with barely a moment to relax at home. Your Majesty has had to dodge attacks when least expected and has led valiant sieges. Your Majesty hasn't even had time to fulfill his obligation of consum-” _I guess the walls have eyes? Are you related to Lee, that one eunuch who conveniently appears whenever I'm giving Her Imperial Majesty a back massage?_ I cut her off while she was kowtowing on the floor, stated “I grant you an Imperial Pardon” and raised my hand to let her rise. She thanked me again, and again, and I left.   


Suki and I walked down one the Central Axis Road. A few trucks passed us by going the other way. On the walls of the shops that sat along the Central Axis sat posters. Mostly recruitment posters but also posters for this... _ play _ ? Suki tore off one poster to read it in the street light, reading every word clearly.

“Of Badgermoles and Dragons is a new production from acclaimed playwright Pu-on Tim, who collected first-hand accounts of the Earth Queen and Imperial Consort from across the Earth Kingdom. From forbidden love sprouted an inseparable union. Follow them on an erotic journey as they defeat the Fire Nation’s clever and sinister Princess Azula!” _An erotic journey.   
_

Suki had no words. “So, I guess we’re going to go see that, right?” I asked, assuming Toph was standing nearby. “Toph’s definitely going to want to hear this” she said assertively. So we set off. As a side note, the cover of the poster featured Toph and I in our Imperial Summertime Robes, perfect renditions of us, she’s cracking her knuckles while grinning and I’m holding my jian, pointing it towards the reader. The entire background of the image is Princess Azula as she showcases her crazy grin while a lightning bolt reflects in her eyes. 

We found Toph sitting on the Badgermole Throne, enjoying dinner. “Welcome home, Kyoshi and Kyoshi. You two lovebirds enjoy wandering around the Eastern part of the Upper Ring?” she asked, picking her teeth clean of meat she was just gobbling on. “We found this” and I removed the poster from a pocket and handed it to Suki to read. _Please say no. I said no_. She recited the poster’s description and Toph  _ spat _ out the breast meat of a pig-chicken she was eating -right into my face- and screamed “we’re going to that!" _No. No. I don't want to see it. Just remove my other eye. __  
_

Everyone except Katara and Aang had already showed up, having been on the train behind us. Even Ty Lee. As such, tomorrow, we plan on watching the play in disguise. Dai Li have already bought us private seats, paying five gold pieces each to the previous owners in front row private balcony seats of the Earth King Yi Ming Theater.   


  
According to Han, this play is extremely popular with the masses for its...adult...nature.

_Please, Agni, remove my other_ _eye. Just kill me. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, a bunch of adult actors act out what they believe a bunch of teenager's ships should look like.  
Or:  
Everyone gets paired with everyone.


	53. Of Badgermoles and Dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Join everyone to see an erotic AU version of the Ember Island Players. Good thing the Avatar's not here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's lots of references and jabs in here. Just like the original.  
I won't spoil any of them in notes, consider it a reward for sticking through with this passion project for as long as you have! If you're an long time reader, you'll probably enjoy this chapter more than most. If you're new, welcome, welcome! Have a seat, grab a whiskey and let's enjoy the Tophnanagins together! 
> 
> Thank you all for the 1000 hits! I started this, 3 months ago, with the intention of writing a story I wanted to write, a mishmash of history, AU and Toph-related actions. This will never reach the fame of Zutara or its kin, I didn't expect it to get this far, but know that each of your hits drives me to write another page of words. Each comment and kudos, another chapter. 
> 
> Thank you all again, and buckle up for one of my favorite chapters to write.

HIM Entry LIII:

Hayashi.

Zuko and Mai pride themselves on “being perfectly punctual” and as the Earth King or whatever my title is, I don’t want to let a bunch of Fire Nationals outdo me so I forced Toph to leave before they would and as a result we got there first. It might've taken hair pulling, _my _hair pulling, but I reminded Toph the subject of the play we were going to.

We collectively dressed in the garb of Upper Ring nobles, and found our sky-high seats. Wasn't that hard, the Dai Li escorted the non-Imperials. Beneath us by some fifty feet and to our left, the rest of the seats. Two rows of seats were allocated as needed. Toph and I sat at the left, swapping seats all the time. Suki to our right then Sokka to hers. Zuko and Mai _ and Ty Lee _ sat above us. _Don't think I'm going to forget you, Ty Lee_. Zuko and I wore bandages on our eye but Toph still went with her hair bracelet because “there’s no way I’m going without it”. Thanks to the private balconies, we were ignored. Two Dai Li agents would buy our food for us so we didn’t risk being exposed. Suki had her fans in her waistband and I had my jian in a regular scabbard.

The crowd slowly filtered in. As this was located in the Upper Ring, most of the audience was dressed in lavish golden dresses, hair done up in _ qitous _ and braids. It might’ve been nighttime outside but that was “atmospheric” according to Sokka. A stage was located not far below us, easily within view from a sitting position. Curtains were drawn and lights illuminated the front stage. “When are we getting to the play?” Mai would ask in between looking at her manicured nails. She was as bored as Toph was excited.

A tsungi horn eventually sounded, saving us all from another round of “why are we waiting for this” from Mai and a short round man dressed in a bright orange robe with black hair and a wide black mustache rolled out from the right side of the stage. The crowd stood and bowed to him. “I’d like to thank all of you for coming tonight. This play is almost a year in the making. Countless nights were spent compiling my information to be as accurate and unbiased as possible. Enjoy the show!” and he walked off behind the curtain. He was _ applauded for that _ . "Why are you clapping?" I had to twist my head to direct that one to Ty Lee, specifically. "Because he worked really hard!" Zuko's faceslap should've been expected.

Introduction:

The curtains were drawn to reveal...a house interior. A tall man in a blue tunic with a grey beard -a prop- extending down to his waist walked out. “Hayashi, please come quick!” he spoke in a normal tone and blew into a horn. A young boy in a small blue kimono and wooden jian at his hip with fake sunset-red hair walked out. “Yes, my esteemed father?” and he bowed formally. Suki turned to face me, mouthing _ is this what I think it is? _ “My beloved son, oh how my hand is forced! The old Beifong man asked me for your hand in marriage!” and the old man began weeping. The young boy kowtowed. “Father, I will accept and do my duty to my family!” and the old man grabbed the young boy and the two of them cried. They walked off the stage to the left while everyone sans Toph -she was laughing- and Suki -she was holding back laughter- stared at me. “So...was that accurate, _ Hayashi _ ?” Sokka asked. I shrugged. "I think its pretty funny!" Suki quipped.

A short round man with black hair and a thin Ozai beard in a green and white robe stumbled onto the stage. A chair emblazoned with the Beifong Flying Boar was brought out by stagehands dressed as attendants for him to sit on. He sat down and belched. “Daughter, here, now!” he screamed. Two attendants escorted a teenage girl wearing a similar green and white robe from the right side of the stage. She had Toph’s bun and Toph’s black hair but was much more muscular. Roughly the same height, looked to be in her twenties judging by her...physical features. The short fat man grabbed her chin, she spat into his face, the audience gasped. In response, he slapped her and screamed into her face “I’ve found you a husband. He will take you, bed you and ensure our house does not die with you, you insolent little disgrace”. Actress Toph walked off. Toph grabbed her armrest, me, and squeezed it. Sokka leaned over and looked at the now reddening Toph. “Is she…?” I held up my hand. “Don’t” and he got the message and got back to his cushioned chair.

Prologue, Eloping:

A tall, very tall, as tall as a _ji,_ red haired man with a thin mustache, bright orange like the morning sun rising over the sands of the Si Wong wearing a blue kimono walked out. “Lord Beifong” he bowed. The short Ozai-lookalike cackled. “Here, take my daughter and spend some time alone while I prepare the wedding feast!” he applauded himself and walked off the stage, two guards joining him. Hayashi looked down at his feet in disappointment. The lights went dim. “Oh, I do pity the heiress!” he clutched his chest and the audience gasped while Suki and Sokka chuckled. Toph was rubbing her face and murmured “well this can’t get much worse”. 

A bed was rolled out with Actress Toph sitting on it, dangling her legs from the side. Actress Toph had this look of anger on her face. Hayashi knelt in front of the dangling actress and started spouting utter nonsense. “Oh my dear Toph, I am here to impart the wisdom of the great Avatar Kyoshi!” he almost tore his shirt off with his grip. “She would look down on us from upon high and say” and he made his voice quite deep while adding a pinch of femininity “‘free this young woman from her imprisonment’”, he went back to his normal voice -deeper than mine- “and thus, I am here to do that!” The crowd was weeping. “Oh, what an honorable man!” among many other statements. Everyone sans Toph was staring at the two of us. Especially Ty Lee and her massive blinking eyes. Her eyelashes almost sliced my face in forty. “You did not-” Zuko started but was cut off by the speaker. “So, my dear, are you with me?” Actress Toph spat into a nearby spitoon. “You bet I am!” and she jumped off the bed and walked over towards the left side of the stage. “Oh my flower, let us depart for a safer future!” he remained on his knee and _ pulled a flower out of his back pocket _ . “Here, take this!” and he handed the actress a white flower. She felt it up, grabbed him and they began kissing. “Oogies” from Sokka, giggling from Suki, clapping from Ty Lee _ who was here by the way _ , Toph loudly laughing "well _Kyoshi, _I didn't know you had it in you!", Mai sitting there bored and finally Zuko who shot me a _ this-doesn’t-make-sense _ eyebrow. _Yeah, I'm with you fellow world leader. _“You weren’t that romantic, were you?” Suki asked. “Nope, he told me he decided he was here to free me, I believed him and we left a few minutes later after pillaging the house of everything we could carry and spent a couple hours tunneling”. “Aw, I think the play’s sweet!” Ty Lee applauded it alongside the crowd. Now _ I _was eye-rolling. 

The two characters got into bed and _ continued making out _ , stripping themselves of their clothes. Turning around, Mai covered Zuko’s face with her hand, Ty Lee watched with Aang-levels of innocence and Sokka and Suki _ both _ said “that’s pretty oogie-worthy”. The two characters were...well I’ll just write Suki’s response. “Don’t tell me you two _ did it _ . Because that’s _ really _ stupid.” she said as if inspired by Katara. Toph scoffed. “You think we’d waste time to escape on that?” but before Suki could respond the actress for Toph started _ moaning _ . The crowd gasped again. “Oh, Hayashi, you’re so _ filling _ !” Real Toph broke into laughter. “Yes! Now _this _is what I paid to see!” she screamed, causing some of the audience to join her in laughter. Ty Lee remained innocent, Mai scowled _ for _ Zuko, Suki slapped her makeup-less face and Sokka covered his. “How could you find this funny?” Sokka asked while ducking his head behind the railing. “How couldn't you? Her Imperial Majesty finds it hilarious.” I responded for the amused Toph. Barely audible, Suki murmured “if this is supposed to be one of those adult plays they show in the red light district, I swear in the name of the Moon Sokka won’t be able to handle it”. 

The two characters were finished grunting and moaning and emerged, hair undone and overall covered in water. “Wait, Toph has elbow-length hair?” Sokka asked. Suki and I both nodded because _we’ve both been there, right Sukes_. “I mean she’s Toph sized, elbow length for her is like shoulder length for me” I quipped, earning a shoulder punch. Suki found that funny, even if everyone else gave us this confused expression. “Truth is, her hair when undone is nearly as thick as the stones she’s breaking.” _Shoulder punch_. “I meant, it’s its own pillow”. _Shoulder punch_. “Okay okay, it’s both thick and quite long except it's usually quite tangled because” _shoulder punch_. “...she doesn’t wash her hair”_ shoulder punch_ _but thrice_. Suki was laughing at all of this and Toph was only punching my shoulder because it _was _funny, or I hope that’s why.

Back on stage, the two jumped out the left side of the stage just as the guards emerged. From off the stage, we heard Hayashi yell “just in time!” and the guards stumbled around checking the bed and underneath it. “No, Sokka, I’m preempting the question. We didn’t escape _ just in time _ . We left the afternoon before the wedding but spent most of it tunneling”. “So why would they portray you as _ just in time _ ?” he rubbed his chin. “I mean, it sounds cooler if we _ just _ escaped” Suki helped me out. “Yeah but these are well-trained guards, they know when to listen for sound and if you _ just _ escaped they’d have heard you or crossed the estate grounds in a few minutes and found you. Guards aren’t idiots, you know”. But to the crowd below us, apparently this _ was _ cool. Because they were fanning themselves, crying, and applauding “the heroic Hayashi and the future Earth Queen”. “By the way, is your name Hayashi?” Zuko asked with his _ I’m-interested _ face. The same face as the _ that’s-rough-buddy _face. “No why would it be?” He shrugged. “Why the hiding?” “I dunno, it sounds cooler if everyone knows me as the Consort” I shrugged. Afterall, according to the Records, the Earth King -which I was the stand in for- would abandon his name and only be known as ‘Your Majesty’, so I opted to go for that. 

The curtains lowered and a short intermission was declared. Vendors bearing various snack foods walked amongst the sitting crowd and passed out drink and bowls of flakes and flake related products. The Dai Li arrived to ask if any of us would like anything, we all refused except Sokka who asked for “the largest bowl of fire flakes” they could find, the two nodded and left. A few minutes later, they returned with an artillery shell sized bowl of fire flakes and “the monarchy spent ten silver on that, Your Majesty”. During the intermission, Toph and I were asked a bunch of questions. “So what caused the two of you to fall in love?” from Sokka, causing Suki to shoot him a _ you’re-about-to-eat-a-fan _ face. Toph blew on her bangs and I crossed my arms. “Ask her” I said. “Ask him” she said. Sokka slapped his face. A hand grabbed my face and turned it towards Sokka. Thanks Toph. “Alliance of necessity turned into ‘let’s get hammered world tour?’”

Part I, The Spring:

The curtains were raised to reveal a mockup of the Badgermole Throne. The crowd applauded it instantaneously. Sitting on the throne was a man who was supposed to be Kuei but lacked his spectacles and looked like a child. And the bear was played by a man covered in furs, his cold dead eyes were both terrifying and anatomically wrong. Men dressed as Royal Guard stood in front of him in a line. Running _ through _ the crowd, tearing off her cloak was a woman dressed as Princess Azula, similar armor but wearing much more makeup. Four people carrying a fake dragon walked onto the stage and black-clothed stagehands made the dragon ‘shoot’ out flames, in reality a bright red curtain, enveloping the Royal Guards and the Earth King while they screamed and the audience wept. They all fell over and played dead. Even the bear. “That’s rough, buddy” Zuko said as he gestured to the ‘dead’ guards. Walking onto the stage from the other side was the Actress Toph and Hayashi. He had a blade in hand and she was cracking her knuckles. “Oh, Azula, I’m going to wreck you!” she yelled while our Toph cheered, punching her fists at Azula, stagehands had an earth pillar ‘hit’ the Azula actress in the face while she screamed. Azula grabbed her nose, now in high voice, and yelled “I’ll fight you all again!” and ran off the stage, the dragon following her. “So?” Sokka asked, all investigative. “That wasn’t accurate at all” Toph said as she picked her toes. “Wait wait don’t tell me. You pummelled her with boulders?” he looked over to me “or did you stab her with your Charging Slice-A-Pow?” and he pretended to stab someone with auditory commentary. “Oooh, she’s so dead!” and he sheathed his imaginary sword. Suki grabbed his cheek. “Oh, will your wonders never cease?” and he whined “Oh forgive me Your Majesty!” and brought his hands up. Suki, Toph and I laughed. 

A man dressed as an Earth Sage ran out while Actress Toph put on the Imperial Springtime Robes. Not the actual ones, a single jacket that looked like a _chaofu_. The real outfit consists of layers of clothes. A different man, dressed like General How but without a beard, arrived and said “Soon, we will win!”. The Earth Sage shouted “Long Live Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen!” and he kowtowed. And the crowd cheered “Long live the Queen!” which made Toph smile. The dead Royal Guards got back up and ran over to stand in front of Toph while Hayashi put on his Imperial Springtime Robes and Earth King’s hat. Then the two kissed, earning “aww” from the crowd and Ty Lee. "Now that's an oogie" from Sokka. Then Hayashi got into the lap of the actress, the two of them on the Badgermole Throne, and hands went places hands don't go. Yet again, Mai covered Zuko's face, Sokka was all confused, Ty Lee lost her innocence, and Toph was asking me what they were doing. Verbalizing "hands in places where hands don't go" elicited a loud laugh from Toph. "Is this accurate?" Sokka ever the investigative one asked. _Thanks for that cheek pinch Suki_. Also, no, it isn't. What fun would it be for a playwright to adapt the _real _story?

The next scene was an old man with a beard serving the two of us tea in the Throne Room. But it was interrupted by a young woman dressed as a courtier running in screaming “we’re under attack! A mythical Sky Bison has arrived!” and Sokka _ got out of his seat and whooped _ “here comes the Boomerang Gang!” which caused the crowd to chuckle. 

A bunch of stagehands waving a curtain arrived. Then a young woman, head shaved, wearing a blue tattoo and Aang’s orange robes ran in twirling her, or is it his, staff around. “We flyin’!” she yelled as the Royal Guards formed a semi-circle around Toph. Hayashi ran up to him with his sword -a dao instead of a jian- and fell backwards due to the staff twirling. Toph walked out and ‘grabbed’ the young woman, in reality stagehands _ dressed as stones _ scurried out and grabbed her feet. “What are you doing here?” the Earth Queen’s muscular stand in calmly stated. A tall man, taller, thinner and older than me but equal in height to Hayashi, with a hair bun and buck teeth walked out and stood next to Actress Aang. After him came a curvy, older woman with hair loopies. When I say curvy I mean she was practically falling out of her dress. Actress Toph wasn't far behind, but atleast Actress Toph was wearing clothes. Sometimes. Sokka’s laughing turned to shock as he eyed the curvy actress. Both of these people were dressed in blue. “I’m just here for the meat!” the tall blue man quipped. “That girl looks really beautiful...” Sokka drooled while looking at the curvy woman’s curves. Mai ignored it, Ty Lee was giggling, Zuko, Suki and I were in shock. Toph had to stomp the ground but before she could say anything, “I’m here to help my boyfriend, the Avatar, bring hope to the world!” the hair loopied woman put her hand up to her neck and bowed in some made up style. “Actress Katara is pretty accurate” Zuko put the pieces together. I happened to have the privilege of watching Sokka’s face turn deathly pale. “That’s...my sister…” he slowly delivered then thought through what he just said. Before he could snap his neck to me and shout, everyone save Mai and Ty Lee broke into laughter. “I didn’t know you found your sister attractive, Sokka” Suki said, almost ready to mimic Katara's hand on hips. Toph punched _ him _ in the shoulder. “I didn’t...I was referring to the actress”. There was no way to lie out of this one Sokka. “Boomerang, I can tell you are lying” Toph stated through laughter. “How was I supposed to know that’s my sister? Katara looks nothing like-” And now Suki grabbed his face, leaned in really close to him, kissed him, pulled out and went "how many women accompany the Avatar and have hair loopies?" 

Meanwhile on the stage, Aang and Katara began making out _ in front of _ the Royal Guards, Actress Toph and Hayashi. “Oh Katara, I’m going to shove this ancient staff up your” but I couldn’t hear the rest over the laughter from Toph who was slapping her sides from all this. Sokka’s scared face turned into one of terror. “First they put me through oogies in real life, now here?” He groaned while Suki continued laughing. The two rolled around on the floor of the stage, hands vanishing in places hands don't need to be, kissing and slobbering all over each other. The crowd reacted just as we did, with laughter. “Fill her with hope!” they jeered. Toph heard this and fell over from laughter. Her thoughts? “Never have I heard a more accurate...ever”.

The entire back set was rolled off to the right, leaving just Hayashi and five Royal Guard in front of a red curtained backdrop. The Royal Guard began pretend fistfighting men dressed as firebenders. A young man with flowing black hair dressed like a firebender ran on from the left side of the stage. “I am General Shinji, he who has never lost a duel!” the crowd booed him. “Honorable foe, in the name of the Earth Queen, let us put that name to the test!” Hayashi yelled, earning cheers. “An Agni Kai, to the death!” The soldiers stopped fighting and formed a circle around them. The two took their positions and spouted more nonsense. "Oh Your Imperial Majesty, I would gladly die for you!". “Long live Azula!” he shouted while gripping twin wooden dao except they were covered in orange and supposed to be on fire. The crowd booed him. “Long live Her Imperial Majesty!” and the crowd cheered Hayashi. They both screamed and clashed blades. “But...if it’s a fire sword, wouldn’t it just go right through the regular sword?” Sokka asked. Before I could respond, ‘Shinji’ poked Hayashi in the eye -actually the forehead- and the two pulled back. Hayashi grabbed his right eye and yelled “what a dirty trick from a sneaky firebender!” while the crowd booed “go back to the Fire Nation, Shinji!” Good think Zuko and his group were busy trying to pay attention to the fight to take offense. The two duelists clashed again. Hayashi would vary between the same two strikes. Upper strike and lower strike. Every time, Shinji would block the blade with the same two blocks. “But if he has a second dao couldn’t he just stab Hayashi and be done?” Sokka asked, but Suki put a finger to his mouth and said “shh, I’m trying to watch this” while barely holding a straight face.

One finger of moon-crossing-sky time, seriously, of this duel later, Hayashi knocked the two blades out of his hands and pretended to decapitate Shinji. The crowd applauded him. He turned around and walked off the stage while stagehands cleaned it up. “But Shinji wasn’t thirty,” I muttered while looking back on the memories that didn’t exist because this whole duel didn't exist. “Oh?” Sokka asked. Zuko chimed in for me. “Shinji was...I don’t know, sixty something when I last saw him three years ago.” “Wait, so you killed an old man?” Sokka asked, his voice growing concerned. “Yeah, so what?” I responded while thinking back. _ His flames were just as hot _. “That makes you dishonorable!” Sokka shouted. Zuko groaned. “How is that dishonorable? They dueled and he won”. But Sokka didn’t get it. Apparently in the world of Sokka, old people aren’t supposed to be beaten up by younger ones in duels. 

The next scene sent Sokka recoiling in shock. Hayashi was lying on a bed while a underwear wearing Actress Katara sat next to him, waving him with light blue paper. “We’re alone, would the Consort like...some private healing?” she asked, winking to the audience, grabbing her curvy bits and probably trying to slap him in the face with them. “You smell like seal blubber. I like seal blubber but I’d never-” Hayashi responded all calm and collected. Actress Toph stormed in and scolded “the water wench for being a water wench”, stomped the ground and yelled for her to get out. Sokka looked like he just saw a ghost. The rest of us laughed. To the side of the stage, Actresses Katara and Aang had a conversation. “Oh, I tried to let the Consort get a taste of me but the Earth Queen didn’t let me” and she cried into Aang’s shoulder. “It’s okay, I can always get a taste of you” and he winked. She smiled and the two began making out. Eventually, Actress Aang began his process of...obtaining a taste. The crowd was gasping in shock from this and cursed the two for being “such dirty peasants!”, making Sokka mixed between pissed off and confused. “Nobody let Katara see this!” Suki said, laughing. I suppose the only reason Sokka didn't murder them is because his girlfriend is here, and he's going to put up with _anything _for her sake. As if insult to injury, Actress Toph got on the table Hayashi was lying on and...did things, at least wearing sarashi. "I'm not a ostrich horse!" I spat out. Suki and Toph laughed.

The next scene was a few minutes of Toph yelling at Aang. “Feet high, Twinkletoes!” Real Toph punched the railing and went “that’s quite accurate!” “Oh you’re such a failure, Twinkletoes!” Toph said while stone stagehands punched Aang in the chest. She grabbed his staff and a small bag of nuts, poured the nuts out and split each one open, causing Aang to recoil in terror. “Not the staff, anything but the staff! It’s an ancient relic!” he kept crying while she grabbed the nut cores and chomped them down. “You’re an ancient relic!” and she hit him in the face with the staff. The crowd applauded but I couldn’t hear it over Sokka asking “did this actually happen?” and the rest of us shook our heads. “I don’t know” I responded. “I wasn’t at Ba Sing Se yet, that’s a few days from this point” from Suki, “Yes” and a grin from Toph, “still boiling hot leaf juice and didn’t betray everyone yet” from Zuko, a almost-slap to Zuko from Mai and an eye roll from Mai. Ty Lee flashed her eyelashes in affirmation of someone’s answer but I don’t know who's.

A War Room set was rolled onto the stage while the actors of Sokka and I ran back and forth yelling “Black Sun” and “Invasion” and “That’s a good idea” while holding a large scroll. General How walked on with his guards while Toph came from the other side and both sat down opposite each other. On jumped Actress Aang and her acrobatic kick-flip. “Morning!” she yelled. Real Toph stuck her finger to her eye and went “am I doing this right?” while trying to eyeroll. Actor Sokka sprung a piece of meat out of nowhere and began chomping on it. In walked a man with braided hair adorned with blue beads and a large helmet in his hand, shaped like the head of a hound, not a wolf. “Is that supposed to be my dad?” he asked _ as if this man could be anyone else _ .

“So, let’s attack Caldera!” the meat chomping Sokka stated. “What a wonderful idea!” the man with the wolf helmet slammed the War Room table. The two of them sat down and moved pieces back and forth. “Let’s take this fleet and do this!” and Hakoda shoved a blue piece into the Fire Navy’s pieces, sending them flying across the floor. “No, let’s do this!” Actor Sokka picked up some green ships and chucked them at the wall. All the while, the actors for myself, How and Toph sat and watched. Real Sokka turned to me and went “I did not do that!” earning the laughter of Toph and I. Actress Aang cartwheeled over the planners. “So, Aang, do you want to kill the Fire Lord?” Hayashi asked while standing at attention next to the reclining Toph. But Aang jumped _ over _ him, "killing is bad, everyone can be my friend!" leaving the stage entirely, and the two Water Tribesmen laughed.

“So it’s settled, let’s attack Caldera!” Actor Sokka said with a full mouth. General How slapped his face. Hayashi sighed. Actress Toph _ rolled her eyes, despite being blind _ . “If we say yes will you stop bugging us?” and Aang _ returned _and yelled “yup!” Actor Hakoda cheered. “Alright, as we know what we’re doing, we’re going to lead the charge!” and he ran off the stage. "We have faith in you, the Southern Water Tribe has never suffered a loss!" Hayashi shouted. “Go Water Tribe!” and Actor Sokka followed his actor father off. “I’m pretty certain that’s not-” Sokka said while the rest of us -who have the capacity to- laughed. 

Actress Toph pulled off her Robes and sat back in her sarasahi garb while the War Room was replaced with a spa. Actress Katara walked in, _ actually _ falling out of her undergarments while a new woman, a lookalike for Suki, walked in with a modest dress. “Your Majesty, I’m honored to have been summoned” the auburn girl bowed just like I did at the beginning of the play. Real Suki grinned. Actress Toph gestured to the spa, Actress Suki got in while Actress Katara jumped into her spa and splashed the other two with water. “Aren’t you dirty, Earth Queen?” Actress Katara deliberately tried to be funny and earned booing from the crowd. “Her Majesty believes in a protective covering of dirt” Suki corrected her. Actual Toph laughed and yelled “you know it!”, causing some of the crowd to look up at us, notice that we are just teenagers, definetely not world leaders, nope, and directed their attention back at the stage to laugh with us. Meanwhile, Hayashi walked up to the doorway of the spa -the entrance was on the left side- and stood there. “I shall guard the door while my queen enjoys herself!” and he bowed to the crowd, earning more cheers.

Actress Katara took her waterskin and poured out some liquid into three small cups. “Here, Earth Queen, try this” and she handed Toph a drink. Actress Toph drank it up and began acting crazy. Suki called out “Katara, you poisoned the Earth Queen with cactus juice didn’t you?” and Katara smiled all creepily. “You want some?” she offered a drink to Suki. Instead, Suki pretend punched her in the face. Hayashi ran in, picked up Actress Toph, and ran out. “I don’t remember this” Suki commented. I corrected her statement with “I remember that the three of you were barely dressed”. “Were you actually standing outside the door or were you peeping on my sister, you pervert?” Sokka shot me a Katara look. Toph interrupted what would've been a glorious duel with “I’m not the guy who wanted to sleep with the actress of his sister a few moments ago” which earned some snickering and a massive _ sigh _ . “I also didn’t carry Toph back from the spa, I had to grab” I turned to look her right in the cheek, “you while you ran around your own palace naked”. But I got a probably well justified shoulder punch for that. And the smallest hint of a grin. "I'd gladly do it again" "But you did-" “Shh, let’s watch the show” Ty Lee cut her and I off.

The set rolled out to reveal a backdrop of an ocean with rocking waves. Earth Junk set pieces were rolled onto the stage from the right while Fire Navy ships rolled on from the left. Toph, Hayashi and a couple men dressed as earthbending soldiers got on the right boats while men dressed like hundred year old firebenders got on the left boats. They tossed what looked like cloth balls in brown and red at each other. Then came -thanks stagehands- gusts of wind followed by the ‘sea’ turning rough. Soldiers on either side fell overboard and ‘died’ while Actress Aang flew across the stage yelling “I’m peacefully ending the war!” earning laughter from the crowd and Sokka scratching his head. "Aang _did _cause rough waves but I don't think he said that".

The red ships rolled off the stage and the lights dimmed to highlight Toph and Hayashi. Hayashi kowtowed. “I just received word that the Northern Water Tribe fell to the Fire Navy, what are your orders?” Both Toph's laughed. “Let’s go liberate them!” the Actress shouted. The crowd cheered. Sokka was all confused. “So that’s why you showed up late? You sailed north?” Toph, Suki and I nodded. 

A set was rolled onto the stage of the Northern Water Tribe. Toph jumped off and began punching blue-clothed men. “Wait is she attacking Water Tribesmen?” Sokka shouted. The crowd looked up at us and laughed. I cut Toph off from possibly starting a war with the brother of a bloodbender with a “I have no idea what happened up in the North”. Suki continued. “The Earth Queen kinda wanted to go visit the North Pole and have a sleepover, we forgot everything else that happened” and just as she said that, on-stage Toph, Hayashi and Suki ran off the stage to the left. Meanwhile, soldiers in green and blue fought each other. “See, the Fire Nation was disguised-” but Mai’s loud flake chomping interrupted me. “Since when do you even?” but she shot me a face of indifference. “Listen, I had nothing to do with this play, I’m bored.” Actress Toph broke the spacing between the fighting with moaning of "how warm and filling you are, Hayashi!" and Hayashi's responses of "I am Your Imperial Majesty's loyal servant" and resulting _swooning_ from the audience. "We didn't do that right?" I asked the air. Suki, ever the excellent memory, filled in the blank space. "I don't believe you did. As I recall, Her Imperial Majesty was freezing cold and she had to bury herself inside your clothing."

The backdrop was changed to look like Caldera City and the soldiers ran off the stage only to run back on. Blue men from the right and red men from the left. Hakoda led the charge from the right as they charged the overly-dramatic shaking left. A man with black hair, a heavy tan, and the world’s smallest amount of makeup applied to be a scar ran on from the right side. “Honor!” he shouted as the two sides halted. A man with silver locks and a large waist emerged from the crowd to stand at his side. “Uncle, what do I do?” barely-scarred Zuko -and why is he so tanned?- asked his roly poly tea-slurping uncle. “You must always think of what you want in life. Personally, I say pick treachery. It’s much more fun and less boring” and he walked off the stage. Zuko danced in between the lines before punching Hakoda in the face. “But I wasn’t able to deploy the Earth Kingdom fodder!” he screamed while pretending to fall over and die. Real Zuko slapped himself in the face from all this. “Where’s the scar? I’m missing more than a couple hairs and why isn't half my face burned off!” Aang flew across the sky from right to left and halted one blue soldier from punching a red soldier in the face. “No killing” and the actress wagged her finger. She took to the air with wires and the blue soldier punched the red one in the face. The crowd laughed and shouted “good job, pacifist!” while pointing at Aang. The Actress bowed while in midair and had produce tossed at her. 

Azula arrived from the left and Iroh walked up to her. “May I interest you in tea? Everyone loves-” but he got shot in the face with a lightning bolt. The crowd gasped. "Oh, the horror!" Aang saw this and took off, flying across the sky, causing Azula to give chase. Instead of attacking Aang, she decided to envelop the blue men in red curtains. “Sorry men, me first!” Aang yelled as she flew over to the right side of the stage. The crowd laughed while Sokka went “that’s not what happened!”, slowly descending into rage, and Suki and I traded glances. “If Aang didn’t retreat _ right over _ the Water Tribesmen, Azula probably wouldn't have burned them all as fast”. Hayashi and the actress for Suki walked onto the stage. Azula and her four-man dragon arrived. “Greetings Hayashi!” she said, winking. Hayashi bowed to him. “I see your plotting was pretty good. You still hold the throne” she smiled and bowed before ‘firing’ a lightning bolt at actress Aang, knocking her out of the sky. Actress Katara ran on and squashed Actress Aang’s face between her breasts while crying about “the hope of the world!”, the curtains closed and a second intermission was declared, this one for twenty minutes. The crowd applauded, yelling “how riveting!” and compliments like that.

The Second Intermission:

“I’m off to go speak with Katara” Sokka stormed off, varying between angry and annoyed. Mai yawned and gave her opinions. “The best part of the play is the battles. Who cares about all the sitting and talking?” she said, sitting and talking. “I guess you need to give narrative reason for characters to do things?” Suki responded while returning with a bowl of flakes. “Who cares!” she yawned once more. “The Avatar randomly showed up, nobody was asking for ‘narrative reason’ for why he showed up. We’re just here to see the battles!” "Don't you want to see the backstabs?" Suki countered. "What backstabs? There's only been one backstab so far" Zuko joined his girlfriend's side. "Clearly, the lot of us form world leaders, there's bound to be backstabbing" I joined my cousin's side. "Not yet there hasn't been" from Mai. "Well" Toph began, pointing backwards at Zuko.

“Hey where’s Sokka?” Suki asked while looking under our chairs in the off chance he was hiding there. “I heard he went to go sleep with Katara” Toph intermissed her nose-picking for that one. Suki turned red. “I hope its his sister, not the actress” and Toph _ screeched _ in laughter. Suki looked at Toph and took a minute to read off what she just said in her own head. Then she turned white. “Wait, wait, I meant it the other way around!” she held up her hands defensively. “Whatever, ‘Water Tribe’” Toph mimicked Sokkas’s not-a-catchphrase he’s rarely if ever used. Suki took her pale face and stormed off, “if I catch him...oh boy”. I gave chase because my legs were getting bored of not doing things and Ty Lee was creeping me out with how she watched my every movement like a cat-owl and seemed to blink constantly. Also she stood up and got in my face and smelling all these strange orange perfumes while these two disc-sized eyes flash me doesn’t help. "You look pretty. I love the braid" and she showed off her own like this was a braid measuring contest. "This is a queue, not some peasantly braid!" I said with all the confidence of Sokka defending his hair. "No, its a braid" Toph interrupted. Shortly after, I said to her, “is this the most normal dress you own?” referring to her pink outfit. Mai grabbed Ty Lee’s braid and pulled her over. “Forgive her, growing up with six sisters could make _ anyone _ need to wear such strange clothing.” Toph punched the railing and caused the balcony to shake every so slightly. “Seven Ty Lees? What kind of torture is that?” Toph and I both yelled at the same time. Ty Lee looked like she was about to cry. I turned around and tried to find my Captain.

Indeed, I indeed found my Captain at the backside entrance to the stage. Extras dressed in reds, greens and yellows were running back and forth. “Why the bloody fans?” I asked her while she ran a cloth over them. Sokka was clutching her leg and whining some incoherent nonsense. “I went and butchered some perfectly good produce to scare Sokka into thinking I killed Actress Katara-” _good job Suki, you show that produce_. “Who isn’t my girlfriend” Sokka whined. “Well I found it amusing” Suki smirked. “Poor produce” he cried. “So did you give any jokes to the Water Tribe siblings?” but he couldn’t answer because he had run off towards the seating. 

Part II, the Summer:

The curtains opened to reveal Hayashi dressed in Imperial Informal Robes walking through a forest. He came upon a band of men dressed as firebenders and swiftly ambushed them. Every sword swing was elegant and choreographed. _What, did they run out of budget for Shinji?_ The firebenders yelled out “the One Eyed Badgermole!” but were hastily cut down. One man remained, screaming about “the Comet coming”, Hayashi pointed at the right side of the stage, the man bowed and ran off. The crowd cheered, chanting “the One Eyed Badgermole!” 

The Badgermole Throne set rolled onto stage with Actress Toph relaxing on it while the back of five men’s heads looked over the War Table. In the most stilted dialogue since the writing of this journal, General How’s stand in said “So...the Protectorate” and the crowd booed. Hayashi walked onto stage with his Imperial Summertime Robes. “Your Imperial Majesty's humble servant has returned!” and he bowed. The crowd _ cheered _. “How could they cheer this?” Zuko scowled. “No idea, but we’re about to get to the fun stuff!” Toph punched the air and made the entire amphitheater shake ever so slightly.

“Let’s conquer the Colonies and impart Kyoshi’s ethics on them! Plus, metal!” Actress Toph said as she punched the War Table. "Well that was pretty rushed" Suki quipped. _Were you even there? _The Mechanist except with a longer beard ran in and dropped his scrolls on the table. “Here’s a tank, an aircraft, and a giant cannon! They all make things go boom!” and both Tophs’ laughed. “If only he presented it like that” real Toph said while she punched my shoulder. “Why the shoulder punch?” “Are you refusing an edict from your Queen?” “No, I am Your Imperial Majesty's humble servant, of course!" “Good” _ shoulder punch_. Back on the stage, the generals and Hayashi brought out earth pieces and maneuvered them around. 

One bowl of Mai's Fire Flakes later, the sitting and talking hadn't ended yet. The crowd booed “Bring on the battles!” They booed and booed and hearing this, the playwright ran out. “But the sitting and talking sets the stage, are you not interested in planning?” and the crowd continued booing. “No, we want to see war! Who cares about planning?” they booed. “Okay okay” he turned around “Skip to the Siege of Yu Dao!” he yelled at the surprised stone stagehands. “Yes sir!” they got up and ran off the stage. "See?" Mai said, a hint of actual emotion coming from that woman's face. "No" Toph waved her hand in front of her face. "And neither does he" and she covered my face with her hand.

A set that looks like Yu Dao’s old skyline was rolled onto the stage. Actress Toph came on from the side and ran right into a mob of red-clothed people. “I am the greatest earthbender of all time!” she yelled, punching the air as the soldiers around her were knocked backwards and fell over. After her came Hayashi and a thinner version of General Song. The two of us performed some really beautiful ballet with the firebenders and knocked them all out effortlessly. A man dressed just like Lao Beifong’s actor, except wearing red, walked onto the stage from the left. “I surrender to you!” he said in a fake scared voice. Hayashi put metal shackles on him and dragged him off. “I’m totally going to betray all of you, muahaha!” he cackled. The crowd, predictable as ever, booed him.

Toph emerged, tossing metal coins at a bunch of men dressed as Royal Guards. “Metalbend or I’ll break your knees” she screamed at them. “I’m going to make this interesting” real Toph snickered. Then she stomped her ground and made the ground on the stage shake. “Wha-” Actress Toph broke her deep voiced character. Real Toph grabbed our floor and squeezed it tightly. Then the metal coins on the ground _over there_ started floating. The crowd _ stood up _ and applauded, clapping. Actress Toph looked off to the side of the stage then looked back at the crowd and coughed. “A new metalbending army!” she improvised, poorly. The hand flailing wasn't needed but was with certainty, appreciated.

“I order Mayor Morishita be executed!” she yelled as characters came and went. Fake Lao was dragged back onto the stage and was lined up for beheading by Hayashi’s character. Just then, Actress Aang flew onto stage and knocked Actress Toph back with a ‘wind gust’. Toph grabbed his legs with the stone stagehands while Hayashi ‘beheaded’ the Mayor and the crowd cheered. Simultaneously, Actress Katara ran onto the stage and sobbed over “my poor Aangie’s legs” and “I know how to cure this!” and she shoved her breasts into Actress Aang’s face, again. The duo moaned while everyone else booed them. Looking back, Mai was covering Zuko _ and _ Ty Lee’s face. “Why do _ I _ have to be responsible for this?” she asked me upon noticing my twist of head. I shrugged and gestured to a grinning Toph. “_She _’s blind and doesn’t see any of this”. _And she enjoys every second of it, judging by her grin_.

The curtains closed and Pu-On Tim walked out to lots of clapping. “For the sake of building up tension, here’s an intermission!” to mixed applause. Sokka aptly commented “we know how important Sozin’s Comet is, the tension’s pointless”. This time, we sat in our seats for a few minutes. The other couples took to discussing couples stuff -the usual; how the family is doing, where they'd like to go for a date, what weapons have they recently picked up, how many people has Suki killed since Sokka last saw her, and so on-, Toph picking her toes as usual and Ty Lee continuously creeping me out with flashing eyebrows and comments about "how cute your red braid is". The real reason he called for an intermission was to bring out all the supplies for Sozin’s Comet.

Next thing I know after almost dozing off, the playwright returned. “And now, Sozin’s Comet, from firsthand accounts!” and the crowd went “ooh”. Sokka and Zuko leaned over to look at me. Toph cracked her knuckles.

Just from the curtains opening, the crowd exploded into applause. A matte painting of the tips of Wulong Forest with flames billowing. A red lamp crossed the top of the sky. Most of the background was a reddish grey sky. Model biplanes emerged in flock formation from one size while a couple massive prop/model zeppelins came from the left. A very loud masculine voice boomed over all. “Today, meet your destiny, muahahahahaha!” and the crowd booed the voice. Being carried by wires, a man with golden armor and a long Ozai-like beard flew across the stage. Aang, now with painted-on ‘glowing’ tattoos engaged in an aerial battle while the model biplanes darted around the airships. Either one covered the ground in red curtains. Actress Toph ran along the ground and punched the air, causing one of the massive zeppelin props to snap in two and collapse to the stage floor. The crowd cheered with chants of "Long live Her Imperial Majesty!". I explained this to Toph, who joined their cheering and applauded herself. Further down the stage, Actor Sokka was whacking someone with a drumstick while Actress Suki was using her prop katana to slice firebenders down. “And that’s what I call a whack-a-pow!” Actor Sokka yelled as he clubbed a firebender. The entire crowd laughed. Sokka and Suki joined their laughter. Zuko kept scowling. Hayashi loosed arrows -with soft tips- at ‘flying’ firebenders, ‘killing’ them. Two men dressed as Earth Kingdom soldiers launched an artillery projectile at another one of the large props, causing it to collapse. All the while, biplanes were destroyed by small red curtains dropped on them. 

Ozai pointed at Aang and gongs sounded while white confetti was carried across the stage with wires before hitting Aang and knocking the Avatar out of the sky. Real Toph was cheering at this and started yelling “touch the ground! Touch the ground!” The crowd looked up at her then chanted the same thing. Just as she predicted, Ozai touched the ground, cheering that he “has won!” Toph punched the ground and grabbed Actor Ozai with stone plates, sending the audience into gasps. Sokka, too, looked surprised. Actress Toph blinked at the sight, broke the kind of immersion by bowing to the crowd, which earned her cheers, then looked behind her to await instructions. Suki looked over at Toph and despite the dimly lit balcony, could clearly see her grabbing the ground beneath us. Actress Toph brandished a small grey prop and stuck Ozai in the mouth with it. He screamed and the curtains dropped. The crowd chanted “Long live the Earth Queen!” and Pu-On Tim emerged to a standing ovation. Up in the balcony, we collectively muttered “well that was terrible.” Except Ty Lee.

Pu On Tim explained that the next part of the play was “still in writing” and was “made using creative liberties alongside what I have learned from current historians”. This part of the play would cover “the time from Sozin’s Comet, through the present, until the war’s end”. As interesting as that sounds, Sokka cited “this play was already pretty terrible” as an excuse to get up and leave. The rest of us nodded with “you’re right”, save Toph and...Ty Lee. Mai complained “this was beyond boring”, Zuko maintained a scowl, Ty Lee kept blinking, Suki found it “a mix between funny and awful”, Toph was amused by the play “and how it gets the characters _ so _ right”. I have no comment. Watching Black Sun’s disastrous operation isn’t as funny as actually participating in it. Actually _being _burned feels much cooler than watching it. I'm quite glad real Katara didn't try and suffocate me with 'healing'. Overall, our group concluded “this was not a play for Katara or Aang”. Other such comments included “the poster lied” from Suki, “who cares about posters” from Toph and “it sets up Azula to be a big villain but she gets almost no scenes” from Zuko. Finally, Suki capped it off with "I hope real Azula's more of a villain. Give us some plotting and backstabs!" 

A Night Off at the Jasmine Dragon:

Departing into the well-lit streets of the Upper Ring, our strange collection of Fire Nationals, a Water Tribesman and Earth Kingdomers concluded that “it’s a great night for whiskey”. We accidentally ended up at the Jasmine Dragon and were greeted by Druk leaning over to sniff us like some kind of massive watchman. When he got to Zuko, he bowed his head. “Something something royal blood, right?” Sokka derogatorily said. Druk didn’t take kindly to that and roared and probably would’ve roasted the peasant alive had Zuko not patted him on the head and said “this...this piece of jerky..._isn’t _ food”. I was so fixated on hoping Druk would enjoy a taste of human seal jerky I didn’t notice Iroh step out and yell “greeting Nephew! I noticed you’ve made friends from the Upper Ring!” Suki and I got to Toph’s side, leaving Mai standing next to Zuko and “can I join you guys” _ blinks happily _ “no” Ty Lee joining them as well. 

Iroh looked over at us and quickly realized we were who we were. I don’t know what gave it away? Two auburn haired people, one of whom is a male with a bandage over his right eye. Or maybe Her Imperial Majesty’s hair bracelet affixed to a young woman of the same size as Her Imperial Majesty who also happens to have pale lifeless eyes that are ten times less scary than Ty Lee's. In a less cheerful, more courtly voice, he said “Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon, Your Majesty” and bowed. Toph blew on her bangs and laughed. I snapped into my overworked job as Toph’s speaker and bowed back to him. I chose to refer to him as his highest known rank in any organization. “Grand Lotus Iroh, Her Imperial Majesty wishes to just being Toph for a night” earning a laugh from Sokka. Suki shot him a death glare and he whined “no, I just found it funny that His Kingliness uses Toph’s formal name then Toph’s regular name”. _ His Kingliness? Seriously? _

We broke off into two groups when we reached the upstairs balcony seating, the Earth Kingdom plus Sokka and the Fire Nation on opposite ends of the table. Druk was to our left down in his new pen, coiled up like a snake, asleep. First, Iroh came to take our orders. Toph asked for “a hard drink” and the rest of us nodded, except Mai. “No, Ty Lee, don’t-” and she sighed in dismay. A young woman with two long brown braids and almost-Ty Lee sized eyes arrived with a large tray of glasses and a bottle of “The Dragon’s Finest” bottled Fire Whiskey. She made eye contact with Zuko and yelled “Lee? You’re back from the circus?” earning Mai’s _ give me attention cough_. “Oh, hi Jin” and he pointed at the rest of us. “Meet my friends” and we all nodded. I averted my looking and manually turned Toph to face somewhere else so she wouldn’t break into “Your Majesties”. She had such a lovely soft voice when she, probably completely genuinely, asked “so were any of your friends in the circus?” Zuko coughed a few more times, probably code for _ please-say-yes _. As none of us responded, he introduced his side. 

“So this is Mai, the knife thrower” and Mai raised her eyebrows in _ wait was she actually laughing _ . “This is Ty Lee, famous acrobatic” and Ty Lee got out of her seat to do a handstand with one hand before flipping into a standing position. Jin looked on like a child amazed at someone demonstrating bending to her for the first time. “Well, here’s your drinks” and she set the tray down and poured us all drinks. “Would you like a demonstration?” Mai asked with a hint of _ I’m-going-to-knife-this-man _ and Jin nodded. And nodded. And nodded. As she walked back towards the staircase to go downstairs, I noticed _ The Queen at the Jasmine Dragon _ hanging on the wall above the staircase. So did she. She turned around and looked at a ear-picking Toph, then back at the painting. Over the course of a few moments, I was doing whatever I could to try and hide Toph’s quite unique features and concluded to tug at her hair bracelet thing. Jin looked back and covered her mouth with her palm as she went “In the name of Her Imperial Majesty” and she kowtowed. “Do forgive me, Your Majesty” Toph laughed. I had to get up to speak for her, nodded, and said “please don’t tell anyone, we’re trying to have a private night off”. 

An hour of drinks later, we thanked Iroh and departed for the Imperial Palace. Zuko was to be given his own private Guest House next to the Avatar’s old one. I ordered Suki to go home with Toph while I was going to pay a pre-dawn surprise visit to the Imperial Earth Academy.

But no, the one time I go wandering on my own...

I walked down some quiet street with barely any lighting and out of nowhere, my left leg got impaled by a thrown spear. “Not the left one _ again_!” Something kicked into me, a second wind of energy. As I fell, I pulled the blade out, a white _bone _tip, serrated, a similar make to the gear Hakoda's men used, coated in royal red blood. I heard a crescendo of voices yell “over there!” and Dai Li agents fell like ghosts upon a house while four others grabbed me. Whoever was inside didn't last very long.

_Wait. Hakoda's men._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, on ruling a country and all that it entails.
> 
> Each of you, thank you for reading this. Have a great day!


	54. On Rulership

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While lying in bed, the Consort divulges his opinions on what makes a good ruler.

HIM Entry LIV:

In the Name of an Alliance, Hide:

My assassin turned out to be a Water Tribesman. In spur of the moment thinking, I ordered that said man be kept in the dungeons and “due to the uneasy truce, it would be better if he was kept hidden from even the Queen”. The Dai Li, clever and efficient, went off to obtain whatever information they could from him. I didn’t even know his name at the time. As such, not even the Grand Secretariat nor Her Imperial Majesty knew who assaulted me on the streets late at night. Just that four Dai Li agents jumped into the Outer Courtyard, the Royal Guard saw this and immediately blew the horns and next thing I knew I was in the Imperial Infirmary with my arms and legs pinned down by earthbending and an attendant  _ burning _ the leg to cauterize the grazing. The whiskey definitely dulled the pain. 

Her Imperial Majesty ran over to observe my condition, having had her sleep interrupted by a panicked Dai Li then a panicked Captain of His Imperial Majesty’s Guard, Suki. When she arrived, I had the room cleared. "So some...Fire Nation spy...attacked you?" "Yes, that's correct" "You're lying". As I couldn't lie, I divulged that "all I knew was that he was a Water Tribesman". To prevent the headstrong Queen from running face first into a war on a second front, “it’d be best if we didn’t reveal this until later”. She agreed and the train lines would spread word of a Fire Nation loyalist having attacked me after attending a nightly stroll around the Upper Ring. 

Will this only cause more zealous fervor to kill every Fire National? Probably. The last thing I need is to make enemies with the Avatar. Not now. Not while on the cusp of total victory.

On Information:

While lying in the Infirmary, I had the opportunity to continue browsing my ware of reading materials. The Imperial Archives are like no other, they contain information on every chief, every Abbot, every Fire Prince and Princess and every Earth King and their wards going back three centuries. Contemporary figures, that is those from the past fifty years, have entire biographies written about them by Earth Kingdom historians. Long Feng, in a bid for power, hid information from the Earth King. As he wrote in his own autobiography, “the true ruler is he who controls the source of information. All others are but leaves in his tempest”. His advice is quite correct, the Earth King  _ was  _ kept in blissful ignorance from his ascension until minutes before his abdication. If we were to inform Avatar Aang of everything we did or planned to do, that would be giving away information. As he is neither the Earth Queen or Her Imperial Majesty’s aide, there is no reason for him to be informed. He may be a twelve year old, he may be against the Fire Nation today, but he’s also the monarch of his own nomadic titular title. He will  _ never _ be our ally. Shall both parties produce children, the Earth Kingdom is protected. As passed in an edict by Her Imperial Majesty, female firstborn get inheritance and matrilineal marriage is now acceptable. Not to mention, the Siege of the North would vilify us in the eyes of Master Katara, the Avatar’s -as of this writing- future spouse and waterbending master. And unlike Aang, who'd probably talk his way out of every fight, even fights he would win; I can't see the Princess of the South granting us the same pleasure.  


Upon hours of interrogation, the man revealed himself to be a Southern Water Tribesman, but that was it. He was part of the Southern Water Tribe Navy and participated in the assault on Caldera.  _ Was he Hakoda? Did he know Hakoda? Everyone in the South knew each other. What of the Avatar? Did Katara know?  _ As per my instructions, the Dai Li would work throughout the following day to cast a net around the hidden Water Tribesmen nestled across Ba Sing Se. It is currently presumed that they hid in a deserted Upper Ring domicile through dressing as and stealing the passports of Upper Ringers. Clearly, I wasn’t about to tell the Avatar or his companions about their kinsmen. And as Her Imperial Majesty cited during a bison-back trip to a campsite months prior, controlling a hemisphere sized Kingdom requires lots of work. The Dai Li get that work done, quietly, efficiently and punctually.  


The Many Faces of War and Peace:

I do not recall which Earth King said it, but “peace is war without the levies”. In essence, ruling the Earth Kingdom has many of the same traits as a military campaign. Spies are essential. Bloodshed still occurs. The difference is there are more casualties of your own citizens and less of those from the Fire Nation or Water Tribes. Long term planning is also required. Just as one cannot launch a hastily planned siege, as seen with the First Siege of Caldera, one cannot expect to maintain a rule by facing issues as they come. Predict what your opponents will do, then preempt their moves. Her Imperial Majesty ordered the arrest of the Magistrates to prevent noble rebellions. Even if Her Imperial Majesty didn’t kill the Fire Lord in such haste, the plan was to kill him. The Avatar may love his ethics but killing the Fire Lord on Sozin’s Comet would prevent a Fire Nation victory in the short term. Even the most propagandized Fire Nation news would have to inform their populace of the death of Ozai. Of course, killing the Fire Lord would never make the country submit, contrary to what someone like Katara may think. Thus why we must mount another invasion. Finally, in attacking General Shinji in the middle of the night, I preempted his retaliatory strikes. 

On the nature of strikes, in the midst of even the most chaotic fights, there will always be opportunity. Its up to the commanders to sense it and the officers to execute on it. In the case of General Shinji, even without the inebriation, my plans were concealed like the shadow of darkness. My goal was originally to try and take the Drill before reinforcements could arrive. I knew my own forces, earthbenders could rapidly reform the wall and as a bonus, the Royal Earthbender Guard are third only to the Kyoshi Warriors and Dai Li. And I knew myself, losing this battle would be death for us all, thus I had nothing to lose. And yet, when I arrived at the camp of General Shinji, I called him to a duel to take advantage of what I knew about him. Both Generals were driven to be as competitive as possible by Azula. Both were quite arrogant of their success. But Heiji was on the front lines and Shinji wasn’t. I correctly assumed that between the honor system of the Fire Nation and his location, he was insecure about his fighting skills. Challenging him to a duel posed a massive risk. I won because I imparted the core of neutral jing, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Her Imperial Majesty is a master of neutral jing. She waited for the Fire Lord to expose himself and struck.

One can draw parallels between running an Army and the Earth Kingdom. Lots of people from all kinds of backgrounds brought together. The General must maintain morale or risk desertion. In the case of the Earth Kingdom, independence movements. Unlike a military, the popular support of the Earth Kingdom is solely based around the strength of the Earth King or Queen. As Master Jianzhu, the one wise companion of Avatar Kuruk, once said to a young Avatar Kyoshi, “The Earth King’s power waxes and wanes. It never reaches completely across the land like it should.” 

The source of the past century’s war lies in the fragmentation of the Earth King’s rule. The Earth Kings of centuries ago were warrior kings. They led the Royal Armies to crush foreign invaders, rebels, pirates and bandits. The 43rd Earth King, alongside his brother, the Earth Avatar, led the Earth Kingdom to total victory over the Eastern Fire Warlords in the Rout at Taku after fighting the “Fifty Year Duel”. The Earth Avatar dueled the Fire General atop the Five Peaks in an Agni Kai while the Earth King, sabre in hand, riding an ostrich horse, surprised the besieging army with a lancer charge. Had Taku not burned to Sozin, bards would still sing of the Earth Avatar protracting the duel so the Fire General could watch his men get ridden down before he himself took an icicle through the temple. Of course, after the war ended, the looted riches caused the next couple generations of Earth Kings to live in such extravagance that it took the Yellow Necks to remind the monarchy that a world existed beyond the Imperial Palace.  


The Earth Kingdom prospers only when the Earth Monarch is powerful. Her Imperial Majesty’s support comes from her personal achievements. Inventing metalbending would be cause for support enough, but she went one further. In being the Blind Bandit, she gains the support of the uncultured, unclean, dimwitted masses. Said masses are not to be underestimated. As history has shown, they have a tendency to be quick to fanatacism. Either fanatically loyal to the monarchy or against it. Granted, Ba Sing Se could last a century long siege thanks to the Agrarian Zone, but that's assuming the ideology doesn't spread inside the walls.  


In speaking of the peasantry, there is more to record. The average peasant lives in the same conditions his distant ancestors did. His house is made of thatch or some such substance. Heavily pitched roofs are common, even in the temperate regions. His domicile is a one floor structure, maintained by the local earthbenders or his own family if possible. A pitched roof enables him to have a loft. He and his wife share one room while his children share another. The common room doubles as a kitchen, center for dining and a fireplace. There are more rooms I’m not mentioning, but on average the farmer’s house is only five or six rooms large. Usually, a stone structure lies adjacent or behind the house where farm implements and other nonperishable goods can be stored. 

Every village tends to possess some form of spiritual leader. The more rural and the farther one gets from Ba Sing Se, the more of a prevalence of worshiping local deities. Kyoshi Island worshiped the Avatars, but specifically Kyoshi. Omashu, the Ba Sing Se of the South, worships the duo Oma and Shu. Most of the time, however, should the Earth King demonstrate power, he will surpass the others as the main deity to worship. Her Imperial Majesty may be a mortal in the sense that she was born and inevitably she will die -at which point the 54th Earth King or Queen will ascend- but the Earth King -or Queen- is a deity unto itself. The concept of worshiping the Wielder of the Mandate of the Spirits has no known source. As of this writing, the average farming village has a portrait of Her Imperial Majesty inside their Great House. They genuinely believe Her Imperial Majesty to be a gift from the Spirits to resolve the turbulent times set forth by the Hundred Year War. This isn’t some Lake Laogai reeducation, they truly believe her to be a goddess. A strong Earth Queen has resulted in a massive recruitment drive and increased harvests sent to the Capital. A ruler should lead his forces much like I have in Ba Sing Se, Yu Dao or Osaka. The other option is a set of personal achievements; Her Imperial Majesty capturing Yu Dao mostly on her own, killing the Fire Lord and inventing metalbending. In conclusion, the Monarchy’s inherent power, the divine right to rule, plus personal achievements can be used to channel the population towards a certain goal from which point they will never diverge until the goals are accomplished. 

No matter how the monarch fairs, a large amount of the population will fanatically defend the monarch. The preceding Earth King was incompetent, but "Long live the King, Long live the Earth Kingdom!" remained a popular chant of the army. This is due to multiple reasons: One, what's the alternative? Two, we wouldn't be the only ones to lose out. Ministers have jobs, nobles have status, should a peasant rebellion succeed, they'll die next. Third, its the status quo. Monarchies represent stability. The 52nd Earth King would still have found loyalists across his Kingdom with which to find refuge. That is, if he wasn't currently locked up in Lake Laogai. 

Do not allow the populace’s support to drive oneself to arrogance or presumptions of immortality. Do not take advantage of the endless riches to live solely in luxury, or else an opportunist like Long Feng will arise and take power as regent. I came from a fishing village on the far end of the Earth Kingdom, Her Imperial Majesty came from a prominent family and rejected the traditionalist values to pursue a career in wrestling and getting covered in mud. The future ruler, to whom this specific record is addressed, is expected to have been tutored from a young age in the interests of both the nobility and the peasantry. He or she is expected to learn to read at a young age. To garden in the morning and practice calligraphy in the afternoon. They are expected to master the following weapons: the dao in single and dual blade form, the jian in single blade form, the katana, the naginata, the quarterstaff, the dagger, the bow and the crossbow. 

Become a master at history, strategy and tactics. Learn the characteristics and flaws of every world leader and their immediate family. Tutors and the Dai Li can provide information on the various magistrates of the provinces. If one does not take advantage of the plentiful information of the Dai Li, one will have wasted the greatest source of knowledge in the world. Said heir should also pursue a career in the Imperial Army. What good is a future Earth King or Queen who sits upon the Badgermole Throne and never leaves it?  


Her Imperial Majesty solves most of her problems with a fist. In imprisoning the nobility, she showcased to the entire Earth Kingdom that her power was unmatched and even the highest ranked nobles could be captured. In killing Fire Lord Ozai, she demonstrated that the Earth Kingdom’s power could cross the entire world. By comparison, the Avatar only achieved victory at the North Pole due to spiritual intervention. Otherwise, every operation he has participated in has been a defeat for him and his companions. He led the Southern Water Tribe Navy to a massacre at the docks of Caldera and his incompetence as an Avatar -as the official records are to be believed- allowed Yu Dao to be burned. He had eyes and could have easily broken the entire air fleet with earth pillars, but didn’t. Diplomacy can be useful, but if the Monarch must resort to diplomacy they have already failed. The only person to whom diplomacy is a necessity is the Avatar. By extension, whoever his or her allies are. The ender-of-dynasties, regardless of the current incumbent, could be set off to the point the world-ending powers trigger. Telling Avatar Aang that we annihilated the Northern Water Tribe for their history of chauvinism would only set him closer to that Avatar State point. Supposedly, General Fong triggered his Avatar State when he tried to kill Master Katara for the purpose of setting the Avatar State off. And he ruined the interior of Fong's fortress.  


On conquest, it is just as important to demoralize the enemy as it is to capitulate them in a siege. A mass desertion of the Fire Nation occurred from the use of one assassination and all that followed. Driving Azula over the edge of madness caused the Fire Nation to switch government types from a stable centralized authority to a decentralized mess of Generals unified by the strongest of all. That doesn't mean they've been defeated. Just in a power vaccum. We must strike them before the strongest of all unifies them into one fighting force.  


As we have learned from the Dai Li, terror and assassination are the secrets to a victorious campaign. They go hand in hand with the preempted strikes discussed earlier. Causing the population to doubt their rule gives the Earth Kingdom -should the Monarch be a populist- a justified cause for invasion. At the end of the day, we had the high command of most of the Colonies assassinated. The history books and the contemporary accounts will mention populist uprisings, but in essence they were mass assassinations. The difference is instead of a Dai Li agent with a rock glove snapping someone’s windpipe, the citizenry of the Colonies were so demoralized with their rule they revolted and killed the leaders for us. While the Earth Monarch shouldn’t be afraid of anyone else, save the Avatar, a populist ruler doesn’t order the covert assassinations of popular magistrates and officials. That’s the job of, in the case of the current reign, myself. 

While Her Imperial Majesty is the beloved young woman who men and boys love for her rule breaking -and steak consumption- and women and girls admire for her progressive nature, I didn’t earn the name the Fist of the Queen for nothing. The truth is, I owe much of my thanks to the footwork of the Dai Li, an organization three centuries old with as much experience. Future rulers are expected to take advantage of the Dai Li for the following purposes: Assassination, sabotage, demoralization, incitement of rebellions, screening visitors, policing Ba Sing Se and all around espionage. They are capable of taking on a variety of disguises and roles. The Dai Li, disguised as Colonial nonbender soldiers, have even infiltrated the Royal Palace of the Fire Nation. Han, the Head of the Dai Li under Long Feng, has agents disguised as everything from cooks to attendants. They were planted in the Royal Palace decades ago by Long Feng and remain at their posts. The Dai Li happen to be loyal to their jobs. Many of them come from dynasties of Dai Li agents going back to Kyoshi's era. They don't need to be paid as much as soldiers of the Imperial Army for they pride themselves on completing assignments.  


With that said, don't overwork them. They have the right to have days off and don't have to follow the same rules the rest of the country does. Their own style of bowing is to remain the same as it always was. They are _not_ servants for the Earth King or Queen to throw around. We have servants and attendants for that job. They are superior to all other branches of the military and should be dignified as such. While they won't betray a fair ruler, never forget their loyalties. They are loyal to a Earth Monarch who _cares _about the Earth Kingdom. Treat them like animals and they _will _conspire against you. Always remember your traditions and they'll be at your side.

One part of running the covert operations is contingencies. Such plans are hidden from even the Earth Queen. Just as a battle plan should always account for a variety of options, so to should the stealth. A plan, named “Sifu Hotman”, after the moniker given by Avatar Aang, has been set in place for a possible future assassination of the future Fire Lord. It benefits the Earth Kingdom to have Zuko on the Dragon Throne in more ways than one, but just as the rest of his family has gone mad -save Iroh- it's quite possible he will as well. Such plans must take everything about a target into account. Their entire schedule, who they meet on a daily basis, when they eat, what they eat, who they physically desire, their level of paranoia, the level of loyalty of the staff, their proficiency at bending, the time of day when they are weakest, and so on. To future rulers, I advise the following: 

Be courtly, be diplomatic and always have a plan to kill everyone you meet. 

Back to the events around my incapacitation. A pair of Dai Li requested permission to enter from my current guard, Suki. She leaned through the doorway to tell me of their arrival. I nodded and had them enter. The second agent shut the door behind them so nobody could listen in. The following is a record of what they learned: The assassin in question was named Gilak, one of Chief Hakoda’s Lieutenants. He claims to have led successful raids against the southern Fire Islands, plundering villages and monasteries. Clearly, if he was this intelligent, he wouldn’t have been the one to throw the javelin. His band of Water Tribesmen snuck into the Upper Ring using fraudulent passports received from a White Lotus safehouse located near the Serpent’s Pass. They took up residence in an Upper Ring house, disguised as a fishing baron and his household staff. As for their assassination attempt, they saw me coming and hid in one of the deserted Upper Ring houses. They still had possession of their Water Tribe weapons, as due to the recent edicts, weapons are allowed in the Upper Ring. He planted a javelin in my leg, the Dai Li spotted him instantly and swarmed the house. Some of his men were killed in the successful capture of Gilak and his accomplices. The Dai Li policy is to capture if possible for acquisition of information. As for the motive? The Southern Water Tribe has vilified Her Imperial Majesty for quote ‘abandoning’ them during the Day of Black Sun. As such, Gilak took it into his own hands to get revenge for the near extinction of the Southern Water Tribe. 

The Dai Li brought up the objective fact that it wasn’t the Earth Navy that abandoned them, it was the Avatar. He fled over the city and over the mooring ships. Had he fled westwards, or been successful instead of a failure, Azula wouldn’t have noticed the ships and men and wouldn’t have burned them. This statement, combined with a couple hours of solitude, caused Gilak to break and spill what he knew. 

Was it true? Was the Avatar directly responsible for the deaths of his Southern allies? It didn’t matter. As I have learned from the Dai Li’s records of past Heads of the Dai Li, statements don’t need to be wholly truthful to break someone. They only need to sound watertight and appeal to their biases. The Southern Water Tribe, like any group, is quick to blame  _ someone _ for their failures. In both the “Earth Navy” and “Avatar” stories, the Southern Water Tribe is the victim. It simply made more sense at the time for the Earth Navy, having been mostly absent, to be at fault. And yet, the Earth Navy didn’t draw the attention of the dragon. That’s watertight. The Avatar fled  _ over _ the attackers and Druk followed the Avatar. That’s watertight. The way we showcased it, in strategic terms, Azula simply took advantage of the chaos of the battle to pursue a newfound opportunity. The Avatar failed to kill the Fire Lord during his eight minute opportunity. That’s watertight. By pinning the fault on the Avatar, we could channel Gilak's hotheadedness towards spilling information. His allies are all now under supervision, but haven’t been captured yet as the Dai Li want to learn about everyone they are in contact with. A strategy for a future mass arrest is currently in the works. 

A Fair Queen:

My personal experience as second-in-command of the Earth Kingdom has taught me that most of what happens goes on behind the scenes. Thus, my comments on controlling information; with examples such as how the peasantry view the Monarchy and how the Monarch should view themselves. And yet, our interests are for the purpose of bettering the Earth Kingdom. Neither Her Imperial Majesty or I want to live a life of luxury off the broken backs of the populace. Unlike the lily-livered idealists such as the Avatar or his girlfriend, I accept that if one wants to maintain actual, respectable rule, they must use all the resources available to them. The Avatar’s going to drive himself towards being viewed as obsolete if he doesn’t act like a world leader. Master Katara’s ignorant jabs at self governance would only result in civil wars. And should we agree to it? The next Earth King or Queen would most likely call a de jure invasion of the Colonies or whatever their name is at the time.  


We may cite the policies of Long Feng, a tyrant in the eyes of the Avatar, but that just goes to show that even “evil” people can teach a thing or two about rulership. Now, Long Feng wasn't a tyrant. He was taking a terrible situation, the Hundred Year War, and trying to maintain stability in a perfect tinderbox for a populist rebellion.  Kings that led their armies on campaign are the best Kings. Learn to wage war from the front to earn the support of the people. Kings that lavished in the Imperial Palace while starving their people are bad. Do not treat your position like you are the deity the people believe you are. Especially your servants, Dai Li, or Royal Guards. They may be named 'servants' but they are still people.  


In terms of the beliefs of Her Imperial Majesty and I? I follow the ethics of Avatar Kyoshi, who called for egalitarianism and meritocracies. Despite being so progressive, she also created the Dai Li. We believed, back on Kyoshi Island, that this showed that she was aware of how nothing is held without sacrifice. The Imperial Earth Academy exists to give women from across the Earth Kingdom the possibility of a better future while giving the Kingdom a pool of talented recruits. Her Imperial Majesty isn’t a populist to take advantage of them, she loves the peasantry because while the noble classes abused her as a child, the peasants attended her wrestling shows and enjoyed fights -and steak- as much as she did. I don’t do all this work because I like spending most of the daylight talking to the Dai Li or compiling paperwork. I want to follow in the legacy of Kyoshi. A Dai Li that protects the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se -and the Earth Kingdom- by hunting traitors and archiving information. A Kingdom where people of all ethnicities, so long as they are loyal to the Monarchy, can come and go as they please. A Kingdom that takes advantage of its many resources; a large pool of talented individuals and a metallurgy industry. A Kingdom that combines the best elements of the rest of the world. Namely the Fire Nation’s high standards and education for benders and nonbenders, both men and women. 

A side note: the Northern Water Tribe, being backwards, isolationist and chauvinist, isn’t included. I believe Avatar Kyoshi would’ve traveled there to teach Chief Arnook a lesson just as she taught the occasional drunk back on Kyoshi Island. I could go on, but I’d suggest  _ On Rangi and the Fire Nation _ by Avatar Kyoshi herself. While much of it is a love letter to the Fire Nation, its cuisine and honor system, and some of it is actual love letters written in all kinds of poetry styles for Rangi, the core of the text is on how she’d like to bring industrialization, standardization, equal rights and meritocracies to the Earth Kingdom. 

So the front of my left leg, near the shin, was missing much of its skin. Not that I knew at the time, my leg was tightly wrapped in bandages. I’m writing this a few hours later while lying in bed. Tomorrow, I think I’ll take a ride. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, the Imperial Earth Academy for Girl's first graduation!  
After that, its time for a finale!


	55. First Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kyoshi Duo attends the first graduation ceremony of the Imperial Earth Academy.

HIM Entry LV:

Turns out, officer cadet school only lasts three months.

Finally Some Rest:

In retrospect, I’ve spent the better part of the last three seasons not in Ba Sing Se. Last time I spent more than a few days in Ba Sing Se, the beautiful pink flowers were just coming into blossom. Their petals covered the stone pavement of the Outer Courtyard. I left for Caldera, went on the Kyoshi Duo World Tour featuring Jee and the Four Seasons Choir and came back to Ba Sing Se. I believe I spent about a week in Ba Sing Se before traveling to the Colonies. I spent a month waiting to be turned into well-done meat, then another month figuring out how to celebrate not being turned into well-done meat. Then a week traveling to go home, only to spend one night there and most of said night in a deep philosophical conversation with an immortal assassin man. Maybe two weeks to get back to Ba Sing Se not counting bandits, then almost two months in Shirahama and Osaka. A few days dealing with important worldly meetings that backfired followed by a week returning to Ba Sing Se. Then, a day to check out the new city and a day to watch a play. Finally, a day to recover from a terrible assassination attempt.

I could speak poetry about waking on the finest silk cushions in the world to the pre-dawn symphony of birds, but no. I  _ did _ wake on fine silk cushions -the finest silk cushions, in fact- and there  _ was  _ a symphony of bird calls. Instead of waking from the lust to achieve something wonderful on a new day, I was forced awake by an almost sixteen year old blind girl snoring. Light did not come in through the curtains. I tried my best to fall back asleep, but no, my chest was repeatedly being smashed by said blind girl’s feet. In a moment of true bravery, I grabbed her feet with one hand and one of the pillows lying on that chair full of pillows with another, combined the two and rolled out of bed. I softly whispered “success!” to celebrate victory while looking out the window of the Imperial Bedroom. Snow was bunched up against the bottom of the window and looking down into the Northern Courtyard, the lamps of firelight illuminated thousands of snowflakes as they fell.

Of course, my success was short lived when Toph yelled out “my pillow!” as she flailed around in bed, hands all over the place. In turn, this caused Suki to jump in, katana at the ready. _Because anything could be an assassin_. “Get me my pillow!” she repeated as  _ more _ people ran in. I turned around, half expecting to meet her gaze before remembering she doesn’t have one, and said “no”. She stopped pretending to fly, grabbed the pillow formerly used by my head, plopped down, and tossed herself back under the blankets. “Okay then”. And she fell back asleep. The guards all looked at me like  _ I  _ was the cause of this. I was. I walked up to and past them to find a closet with my clothes. “Please go back to your posts” I said, forgetting that I could just as easily say “dimissed”. After everyone, even Suki, left, Toph made sure to resume her loud snoring. “Can you not? I’m trying to put on pants” and she responded with even louder snoring. “Have a great morning!” a hand came flying out of her blankets and waved to me. _I get it, leave. Still need pants._ Candles were already lit in my private bedroom when I walked in. 

“A good twilight to you, Your Majesty!” in walked a young lady, the Queen’s Personal Assistant, Ming, as happy as Ty Lee but not as terrifying. I’m sure one of the guards went and summoned her knowing full well I was off to put on the rest of my clothes. She gave off a courtly bow before walking over to the Imperial Consort Dressing Cabinet. Said 'cabinet' is actually a dressing room inherited from when the title of consort was reserved for...well not me. Technically, the Consort's not allowed to stay in the monarch's bedroom every night, but Toph likes her foot pillow and I think its easier for the guards to...guard...one duo as opposed to two separate rooms. We exchanged smiles and engaged in some relieving small talk. “How’s the weather this morning?” I asked while sitting back on my perfectly made and never used bed. “Snowed all of yesterday. Grand Priest Li says its the spirits” she pulled out two similar looking chaofus, one with slightly more bluish tinge one with slightly less bluish tinge. “Wintertime Robes” she placed it down on the bed next to me. Only then did I notice that she was quite exhausted, and probably could do with a shower. “You know, you  _ can _ go back to sleep” I offered her, but she rejected it. “Of course not, who would help Your Majesty get into this heavy fur trimmed robe?” I shot her a  _ are-you-kidding _ look, then remember where I was. “Well help me get into this, then I order you to go take care of yourself”. And she let out a small smile while helping me put the  _ really _ heavy Robes on.   


The Imperial Wintertime Robes set makes up for the rest of the year by being heavier than the rest due to all the exotic furs stuffed into it for insulation. I'd argue "how can one fight in these robes" but that's just the point. They are ceremonial. Of course, the layers of armor are more than ceremonial. As I learned later on, she was exhausted from spending the past day tending to me -at Toph’s orders- in the Imperial Infirmary. She was the one who tied up my leg the day prior and did it again. She asked me what my plans were for the day, and for the first time since...well as of writing this I don’t know, I decided to go to the Earth Shrine to pay my respects. Half of twilight later, only  _ some _ groaning from a certain young lady who misses her footrest one room over, I got my heavy Robes on, fashioned the scabbard to my side and departed for a hopefully simple day of doing simple things. The guards bowed and Suki physically halted me from progressing down the hallways. “This time, you’re taking bodyguards”. I could tell her no, but if I said no, she'd just cite being my personal bodyguard to follow me anyways, so I accepted.

Yugoda:

While walking down the halls, a platoon of Royal Guards following me with Suki at my side, I came upon a woman in Water Tribe clothing. She bowed and professed “well wishes for Your Majesty”. I had to blink to confirm that I wasn't losing my eyesight or had consumed one too many clear whiskeys. I looked to my side and went “what’s a Water Tribe woman doing here? Has the Imperial Palace ever allowed Water Tribesmen inside the premises” and she stiffened up while the guards walked to my side, awaiting orders. Suki halted my sword hand. “Your Majesty, meet the Imperial Healer”. 

The woman looked like she’d only live to see the midnight sun a few times more. Grey hair loopies, braided, lined the sides of her face. Her nose seemed more pointed than most and she maintained grace even in stiffly waiting for death. She introduced herself as “Yugoda, from the Northern Water Tribe”. 

Yugoda served as a healer during both Sieges of the North. Preceding the first, she witnessed Katara learn to become a master waterbender under the tutelage of the Master, and White Lotus, Pakku. When we responded to Arnook’s insults by turning the entire city to rubble, Yugoda and a band of female waterbenders had their entire households surrender. She proved her value by healing wounded earthbenders. In return, General How didn’t execute the households. 

As part of the terms of surrender by Chief Arnook, now stored in the Imperial Archives, signed aboard the Imperial Junk and addressed to Toph, myself and General How, the Northern Water Tribe would lift its ban on training women to fight and would give up its entire corps of healers as “honored wards” to spend the rest of their days in the Imperial Palace. In return, they’d get quarters inside the Palace. Should Arnook even threaten war, the hostages will be executed. Despite this, upon arriving at the Imperial Palace, they were given decent treatment, befitting actual honored guests as opposed to prisoners. I somehow missed most of them while here as a) they usually wear green b) I’ve had no need for the Imperial Infirmary. 

Despite being a prisoner, Yugoda was much happier to live in Ba Sing Se. The Monarchy grants the households the status of Imperial staff. Thus, they can go enjoy the Middle and Upper Ring when off duty. Unlike the Northern Water Tribe which always suffered food shortages, here they never go hungry. And finally, unlike the North where they face backlash for being healers, here they get the praise of many Royal Guards to whom suffer bashes and bruises every time Toph's feeling the need for a earthbending match. Which happens to be all the time. I thanked her for her time and we departed in opposite directions.

A Nice Morning for a Change:

The guards -some of whom carried Imperial banners- kept trying to maintain perfect step, causing a cyclical wave of noise, silence, noise and silence. The last set of doors opened and...snow storm. The two door guards who are able to maintain perfect bowing and standing still for hours in the face of snow should be paid more. “So, shall we go play in the snow like years ago?” Suki bumped my shoulder. A  _ blizzard _ of memories of Suki, I and the Kyoshi Warriors, all years younger, playing in the snow returned. Plus said memories of our hands getting so cold it became hard to make fists. Then dipping them in a sauna. “Sure, but later” I turned to the guards standing behind me. “Can someone get me a Carriage?” and they eyed each other from attention stances until one man said “Right away, Your Majesty” and ran off. “Watch your step you’ll” Suki began, but the man already slipped and screamed as he vanished over the stairs. 

Quickly walking -I didn’t want to trip- to the top of the steps, we watched him sliding down the stairs, as they had turned to ice, screaming his lungs out. “Talk about a morning workout” I commented, earning the laughter of some of the men behind me. By some feat of mastery, he broke through the ice with earthbending and dug his hand into the stairs, slowing himself down. One long gash in the stairs later, he yelled up to us from the bottom of the stairs. “I suggest Your Majesty take a less icy path!” and he bowed. “Guards, can’t you just break the ice with earthbending?” I said while still looking forward. “Yes, Your Majesty” one responded while they began stomping the ground. They worked together -going down a few steps at a time- to turn the staircase into a large ramp, shattering the glass-like ice into a million pieces. From there, the ice tumbled down the side, breaking against an earth wall the guard at the bottom made. The guards took a few minutes to slowly descend the staircase then slowly ascend them again  _ on earth blocks _ . I felt quite dumb for forgetting an army of elite earthbenders can do that. If only Toph was here for my proper scolding. “But if you made an earth block you could’ve just...oh forget it” and I asked for an earth block to descend upon. Dawn was probably going to break in a few minutes, not that we’d know because the sky was grey with overcast. 

The Imperial Carriage was summoned with a couple ostrich horses ahead of it. Guards were clearing the street with earth stomps. The door swung open and a guard bowed. “Where to, Your Majesty?” he asked, probably dreading that I’d give a Toph answer of “the North Pole” or “Yu Dao”. “The Imperial Archives” and I got inside, courtesy foot platform  _ that I didn’t need because I was already tall enough _ . The lead riders sounded horns while the rest carried Imperial banners.

The vehicle had windows and Suki and I took the opportunity to look out of them towards the west. Passing by the Avatar’s Guest House, I spotted the pen where Appa used to bellow. Just as I thought  _ wow, was Appa loud _ , the riders sounded another set of horns. Next to the Avatar’s Guest House sat the future Fire Lord’s Guest House. Looked exactly the same as the Avatar’s except one curtain was opened. Up popped a woman dressed in a fur blanket, Ty Lee. “Zuko, come quick, its the Earth Kiiing!” she whined, pointing at us like she’d never seen a truck before. _i mean, she probably didn't_. Instead of waiting for him, she frantically waved to us and shouted “Earth King, over here!” The two of us rolled three eyes and I ordered the coach to halt. I opened the door and she grinned. The following is what I said. No, it doesn't make sense. “Yes, don’t you have sleep to go sleep?” Somewhere inside that building, Zuko yelled out “Yes, Ty Lee, go sleep!” but she frowned. “Aww, Earth King, I wanted to join you today!” I looked back at Suki and we both nodded, turned back to her and Suki yelled “driver, continue!” The truck sped off as fast as a slow truck could speed off. A frowning Ty Lee watched us as we left her sight, at the very end I believe she might’ve even let out a tear. 

I spent much of the morning wandering the halls of the Imperial Archives. Since I last had the opportunity to enjoy these halls, entire sections were added. Apparently, without permission from the Earth Queen, Archivists traveled across the Earth Kingdom in the quest for information. The Beifongs had their own aisle. They’ve been plotting to run the Southern Earth Kingdom for as long as an Earth King has sat in Ba Sing Se. Kyoshi Island, previously being part of the “World Geography” section, now had its own aisle. 

Was it accurate information? Kind of. Was it biased? Definitely. Not a single negative or stupid thing Kyoshians do for hobbies was mentioned as being negative or stupid. A university student with all the worldliness of a boy in an iceberg deduced that swimming in frozen water was a 'rite of passage.' While women become Kyoshi Warriors, 'men  _ also _ train in the martial arts.' Now, that’s true, but how is it noteworthy? The whole point of the Kyoshi Warriors and Kyoshi Island is that we have a private female militia always at the ready. Men train for war across the world. We also drink 'regular whiskey' as opposed to the distilled clear whiskey and ' _ have four seasons' _ . Kyoshi Island has two seasons, snow and less snow. Either extreme is marked by permanent darkness or light for weeks. The equinoxes are when we have normal, that is an equal amount of sunlight and nighttime, days. Such normal days last for a few weeks before becoming extended. A completely different account, written  _ by _ a Kyoshi Islander, probably Oyaji as I recognized the writing style, mentions how we have much more twilight then the rest of the world. When the sun does emerge for the winter half of the year, it's usually so low that it casts near horizontal shadows, turning the mountain range a light orange hue.   


Why was I there? I was trying to pick up information on the War. The overseas spies ferry in new information all the time, courtesy of messenger hawks to posts near Yu Dao, and I wanted to get information as unfiltered as possible. This time, I wasn’t going to rely on General Sokka’s wondrous assault planning. Some of the information here had yet to even reach General How thanks to the Dai Li’s bureaucratic systems. Speaking of, most information that gets to the Badgermole Throne is a week late plus however long it takes to arrive. The Dai Li have a massive undertaking, consuming, recording and copying information from the far corners of the world. 

Fire Lord Azula had no control over the Fire Nation. She was technically still the Fire Lord but she locked herself in the Royal Palace and turned a whole wing of it into her personal quarters. Servants still brought her food but for all intents and purposes the true ruler of the Fire Nation was a man named Bujing. Shogun Bujing, adopting the title of warlords from centuries prior. Contrary to whatever information Jee was given, the Fire Navy still remained in activity. A fleet of warships was brought together under Admiral Chan, perhaps the last high ranked Admiral left in the Fire Navy. War Minister Qin, the same man responsible for the construction of the Air Fleet “never slept.” According to a spy’s reports, “I’m unable to get into the War Meetings, but rumors say Qin has a secret project he’s planning to, quote, ‘catapult off’ Chan’s fleet”. I yelled for Suki “get over here, I got a paper I need copied down!” and she did. We wrote down everything we could. 

Chan’s new fleet varied in size. Multiple spies claimed it had two “Phoenix Class” Battleships, the largest moving object constructed in the history of the world, second only in size to the mythical Lion Turtle. “They were commissioned before Azulon’s death as he hoped to one day rule over the Phoenix Empire”. Originally, the ships were named the Iroh and Ozai after Azulon’s sons, but after Ozai took the Dragon Throne, he renamed them to the Sozin and Azulon. Others claimed it was but one Empire Class and some cruisers. Others stated every port and dock, from fishing village to Caldera, was emptied of their ships. 

Survivors of Ozai’s assault, how any of them escaped westwards I don’t know, returned to Caldera crying of “metal tubes”. Whether or not Qin learned from us, I couldn’t derive. Some spies say he stuck metal tubes on his largest ships, some say he didn’t. 

The Fire Nation has resorted to conscription. As a vast majority of their standing army was annihilated, they’ve filled their army with the Domestic Forces. The Home Guard is, from personal experience, untrained and incompetent. The Fire Nation’s propaganda has been unrelenting. The news on that side of the world either lies, claiming only one army group was lost, or cites the religious obligation of the population. “Do not let the earth peasants desecrate the holy lands of Agni”. Young boys and old men will now guard Caldera. Most of our spies have had to flee into the mountains to avoid conscription. Thus, the most recent information is unknown. Overall, the population is filled with a, quote, “fanatical fervor to protect the lands of Agni”. Every single spy warns us of the Army’s new practices. Domestic Forces have planted bombs across Caldera. Every civilian walks around with a sharpened stake. The High Generals are aware that we possess the technological edge but the population isn’t. They still think the Earth Navy is a fleet of burnable wooden junks. It appears as if the High Generals fear a mass overthrowing of the government.

A Graduation Ceremony:

So we left the Imperial Archives, a long scroll of information in tow, and set off for the Imperial Palace. While we don’t have to be secretive about obtaining information, I’m the Imperial Consort after all, we figured it’d be best if we brought it straight to my bedroom and left it there. The sun had already risen, but was blocked by heavy cloud cover. As such, irregular light rays pierced the sky and dotted the terracotta Palace gold. 

I got in the Imperial Carriage and set off for my bedroom, I figured Toph might be waking up by now and such could maybe get a War Meeting scheduled for as soon as possible. Didn’t happen. I passed Zuko’s Guest House and spotted the former heir apparent turned banished turned heir apparent practicing katas outside. Of all the Avatar’s teenage companions, he was always certain to give off the best bows. In case my loud entourage of clattering hooves and a grinding engine weren't enough, the horns halted his front kick, he turned to the passing truck and brought up his hands in a royalty-to-royalty bow. Much like Yugoda, he was, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner living in the Courtyard. I could freely have him killed and the Earth Kingdom public would approve of it. However, my time in the Colonies taught me that the Colonials, for better or worse, love their Royal Family. Namely -still referred to as- Prince Iroh and Prince Zuko. Unlike Ozai who sat on his throne for a half-decade, or Azulon who spent the previous two decades building statues to commemorate him back when he was 'so hot', Iroh traveled the world. Iroh brought the Fire Nation to its greatest extent at Ba Sing Se and Zuko spent almost two of his years in the Colonies. I probably wouldn’t want to have him executed while he’s on Earth Kingdom soil. People of the Earth Kingdom bear massive grudges against the Fire Nation for good reason, but if Her Imperial Majesty pardons someone, they are pardoned. It's as simple as that. The population cannot go against the wishes of the same person they revere as a goddess.  The only justification to ever go against her wishes is if the Mandate is lost, and that won't happen. 

The snow storm was lightening up, not that myself at the time would say that as my fur-trimmed chaofu was still collecting snow. As I ascended the now cleaned thousand steps, Suki shrieked in happiness. “Girls!” and she, two stairs at a time, ran up past me -I lifted my eye up from looking where I was walking- to five Kyoshi Warriors. Makeup, armor and all. They exchanged hugs and more hugs on the middle of the staircase, good for us, noticed me, bowed, and I had them continue their hugging “at the top of the stairs where people won’t trip, please, thanks”. 

I don’t know what’s scarier, the fact that I forgot their names or the fact I forgot that they were technically my bodyguards even though they’ve almost never guarded my body. Each one elegantly bowed, asked about my well-being to which I always told them I was recovering quite well, before continuing a conversation I wasn’t paying attention to -was too busy thinking of the whole Phoenix-Class thing- with Suki. I joined in after thinking things through in my head with a “Suki, can we please drop the scroll off?” which stirred her from her conversation. One of the girls asked “what are Your Majesty’s plans for the day?” which made me relax on a nearby pillar and go “I have none”. So she jumped up excitedly, Ty Lee-like, and said “did you know there’s a graduation ceremony today?” I shrugged my head “maybe” because I had no idea if I knew or didn’t know. Even in writing this, how can I possibly record  _ every thought _ that went through my head at a time. Unless I’m in a battle or planning one, the rest of my life meshes together. 

Short story long, I had a Guard drop the scroll off in my bedroom, heel-turned and dismissed my current platoon of guards for the Kyoshi Warriors. “For once, my bodyguards can guard my body” I said, sounding much tougher than normal, and they giggled. They mounted the ostrich horses and I got  _ back _ in the Imperial Carriage. One of the many stationary Royal Guards asked “would you like to inform Her Imperial Majesty of the ceremony?” to which I responded “no, she’s going to be busy quite soon”. That wasn’t a lie, Toph  _ would  _ be busy quite soon. I also didn’t desire Her Imperial Majesty stealing the show. Maybe we could have a quiet ceremony without big explosions. Oh, who was I kidding,  _ I’d _ steal the show by being there. 

Four ostrich horse riders, plus one sitting in the passenger seat next to the driver, plus Suki and I as passengers, we drove past Zuko yet again, he bowed yet again, and made a left to drive over to the school. Much of the Palace Ground was comprised of buildings designed for the Earth King’s use. Like a whole facility dedicated to storing concubines, now used for storing stamps. Good thing the Consort's -technically 'main consort'- bedroom is in the Imperial Palace. As we got closer, I heard people yell “The Imperial Carriage is arriving!” and cheer. Horns sounded. Then more horns sounded. 

The Carriage came to a halt and the door opposite where I was sitting swung open. The field, last time I checked it was barren, was decorated with sets of ascending stone stairs. A large stone podium was erected with flag poles behind it. Just beneath the large podium sat small stone pillars for seats. And to top it all off, every pair of eyes was looking my way. I slid myself out of the Carriage to rousing applause from the overwhelmingly female crowd. They bowed, not in sync. 

A showering of compliments and well-wishes and “Ten Thousand Years” later, someone who probably holds power said “We are honored by Your Majesty’s presence and we have lots of available seats, Your Majesty”. “That’s good, I hope those seats get filled. I’m going to go sit on top of my carriage.” Nobody saw that one coming. The crowd backed off and I climbed up a ladder to the top of the Imperial Carriage, it’s flat topped, and sat down on the cold metal. Suki tossed me a pillow from inside, then another, then another, and before I knew it I was amassing a pillow collection up there. “Your Majesty, we would be honored if you gave a speech during the ceremony”. I accidentally nodded, in reality I was just reaching to scratch the back of my neck, she applauded in happiness, bowed again, spun around and marched off to a podium. 

I had to sit there for a couple more fingers of time while people arrived for the ceremony. They were dressed in a variety of greens with some reds. Lots of topknots and, let’s call it, Azula-style, hair. The rest of the Kyoshi Warriors took up positions also sitting on the Imperial Carriage. No matter which direction I looked, I spotted pairs of Dai Li surveying the ground and watching me. I can’t imagine what level of intimidation crossed with wackiness must cross the mind of a civilian attending the event. There’s Dai Li everywhere, and Dai Li are _never _so obvious about their presence, and they crown the surrounding buildings like pairs or trios of black ravens. The Consort got a spear to the leg the other day but he’s fine, but now he’s just sitting here relaxing and enjoying the festivities. What festivities was I enjoying? Nothing yet, I was just watching the people mill about. Most of the time, they darted back and forth between watching me kick my own truck with the back of my feet and looking at the platform.

The middle-aged woman, dressed just like a Royal Fire Academy Headmistress, standing on the platform had a gong sound. The crowd went quiet. “Good morning everybody!” she yelled. The crowd cheered. She gave a short pre-written introduction “on the many talented young women who came from all corners of the Kingdom”. She mentioned the various hobbies and trades they brought with them; some were painters, some were musicians, some were herbalists. She noted how a majority of graduating members were Colonials, “the right step forward for the Earth Kingdom”. She spoke about how the various culture groups mixed together. She gave a brief summary of the rigid schedule these women were put under and the rewarding evenings they’d have. They rose at dawn, held roll call, did some running around the grounds the crowd was currently sitting on, then attended morning classes. Each woman had their own ‘track’ to follow, but most of them were following military paths. They had to take advanced courses in both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom variants on military doctrine, strategy, tactics, siegeworks, morale, “Philosophy of the Battle”, “The Martial Spirit”, and all kinds of nonsensical course names that only a full-time academic could possibly come up with. I for one would probably gut myself if I had to attend "The Similarities of Love and the Blade". The more I think about it, so would Toph.   


At the end of her speech, she turned to me and bow “thanking His Imperial Majesty for gracing us today”. Little did they know, I was just doing it for the fun of it. The same gong sounded and from  _ behind me _ , drums. I picked my legs up and spun around on the cold metallic rooftop, no the pillows don’t help that much, and joined the rest of the crowd with their gazes. Do I have to write  _ another  _ military march? 

I’m going to go ask Suki. “No, that’s dumb. Stop writing and go eat dinner”.  _ Thanks Sukes _ . 

So this column of women marched past me in perfect step and right into a marching-in-place formation beneath the podium. It should be noted that while all of them wore capes, most of them had the green Earth Kingdom emblems located in the middle while others had the simplified Imperial Sigil. The members of the audience in attendance and not shivering from the cold were cheering, not much of a surprise, and eventually even Suki joined in with “hey, its what great great great great great maybe another great grandma would’ve wanted” before standing up on the metal truck and clapping. I mostly sat there enjoying the icicles forming on my mustache. 

The Headmistress shut her fan and the marching stopped. An attendant brought her a scroll to read from. It opened, the crowd went silent, and she smiled. “Amidst this graduating class, a hundred and twenty of these young women are, for the first time in the history of the Earth Kingdom, going into Her Imperial Majesty’s military! Not just the military, but as officers!” and this was the point when the Kyoshi Warriors  _ all _ turned into Ty Lees, jumping and bobbing about. Not that I blame them. They don't need to be worried with security. I mean, if some idiot tries attacking a ceremony with a few thousand in attendance, a company of which is well trained fighters currently  _ standing at attention _ , not to mention the 'we're going to break your windpipe with rock gloves' Dai Li all over the place, I can’t see him getting that far. I also can’t tell distance, so maybe he would. Plus the Kyoshi Warriors have a record of “so I just backflipped into the assassin and turned him into sliced cake with my fans”. Interested readers can peruse  _ Koko the First: Successor, Warrior, Leader, Cakebender _ for the antics of yet another awesome ancestor of mine. 

The Headmistress waited, and waited, for the cheering to stop so she could continue. All the while she did it with a smile. Toph would probably just earth pillar everyone to cram it. “Of the one hundred and twenty, two of them are going to join” and she paused for dramatic effect, the crowd gasped and even Suki went “ooh”, “the Royal Metalbending Guard of Her Imperial Majesty!” and she pointed at the women at attention. They didn’t cheer, they maintained formality. We sure didn’t. Can't punish us for crazy cheering. “You know who you are, get up here!” and two females stepped forward. I somehow missed their Imperial Armor. In either one’s left hand, they carried the Imperial Helmets by the plumes. They took opposite stairs to get on the stage and were greeted with even more cheering. Now, I might’ve been able to hear what they said but the spirits preferred if I didn’t. That's why Agni himself sent a very loud  _ bang _ , causing the entire crowd to face me. Spinning back around, no I didn’t  _ want _ to touch the cold part of the truck roof, I spotted the source of the bang. 

That big artillery piece thing that haunts eardrums everywhere was facing us, but pointed up towards where the morning sun would be if this wasn’t lunchtime. I missed the gigantic shell whirring over our heads and out towards...well I spun back around and the crowd probably did as well, just in time to see a large smoke plume begin to rise from behind the Inner Wall. _Well goodbye neighborhood, it was nice knowing you_.  


Maybe in the Fire Nation, the crowd would panic. Not here. These people are used to the shenanigans of Her Imperial Majesty. Someone in the crowd waved her small Earth Kingdom flag and shouted “Ten Thousand Years!” Then the rest of the mass joined in. They faced me, actually facing the Palace, and kowtowed in a somewhat organized fashion courtesy of the Fire Nation. Suki nudged me in one of those  _ hey-you-rule-these-people  _ nudges , so I cued for them to get up. 

The ceremony continued. The two new Guards were master earthbenders and adequate metalbenders. Each one put on their helmet through levitating the metal in the armor which earned rounds of applause. As I’d later find out, they didn’t get in just because they were good earthbenders. No, these two women  _ competed _ with and defeated members of the current Royal Guard in multiple bouts of one versus one combat. In each one’s speech, they cited “the exposure to fast paced firebending” from their childhoods as being why they won. “Speaking to His Highness, the Commander of all Imperial Forces, the General of the Center”, referring to General How, they spoke of discussing “earthbending as a progressive element”. They rephrased the same things I recall auditing back in Yu Dao: Earthbenders with the high-velocity, low area-of-effect, highly-accurate disc shots could easily defeat firebenders in ten-on-ten combat. 

After each one finished their prepared speeches, the Headmistress called upon the graduates to stand. Sensing that it was the right thing to do, correction, Suki told me to, I jumped off the truck. Eyes turned to me, I dusted myself off and strolled up towards the podium. The graduates bowed as I passed, the Kyoshi Warriors barely formed a perimeter squad around me, not that it was needed. “Your Majesty” the Headmistress bowed all military-officer-to-royalty, I bowed back. I got up next to her, the Kyoshi Warriors guarding the staircases with Suki behind me. I leaned in to whisper to her, kind of hard since the audience always quieted down because Earthliness. I told her to continue her speech, she bowed again and proceeded to read off each individual student’s name and their track. Said student would turn to the right, walk down to the partitioned aisle, towards the staircase and up to the podium. Usually coming eye-to-eye with me would make them nervous. I don't know what did it? The missing eye? The other eye that tracked their every movements? The stuffy clothes? The auburn hair? They bowed to me, I bowed back and didn’t have to force smiles. I  _ was  _ and am quite proud of all these people to whom I don’t know their names and probably never will. They’d be given a scroll, a certificate of their graduation, which was then stamped by the Headmistress’s stamp, General How’s stamp -he was absent but one of his aides bore the stamp for him- plus a special “first graduating class” stamp. Finally, and perhaps most shockingly, I withdrew my stamp -thanks for carrying it Sukes- and stamped the scrolls. This repeated for a  _ long _ time. 

When the last woman received her scroll, my off-hand was achingly tired  _ not that I showed it _ . A good rule for the monarch, keep your jian-hand ready for use. I never know when the next genius nobleman’s lackey will lunge at me from a sewer grate wielding a warhammer in one hand and a naginata in the other. 

The Headmistress, possibly forgetting her rank, announced to the crowd “and now His Imperial Majesty will give a speech”. I walked up to the small stand she was resting on most of the time and looked around. I looked towards the Palace, the siege weapon was gone, looked off towards the east, and scratched my head. As I was liquid deprived, I called up Suki and said “Do you have any whiskey? I’m parched.” She grabbed an at attention attendant attending the attendance and shook the attendee. “Get him some whiskey!” The woman bowed and ran somewhere. Suki had some kind of clever idea because she jumped off the platform, ran over to the Imperial Carriage, got inside and reemerged, cheering. “Got it!” and the crowd cheered with her. Oh, those seconds couldn’t have taken longer. I downed the bottle in no time. 

“Congratulations to the graduates of the Imperial Earth Academy for Girls! Now, take your skills and let’s go finish this war!” and I backed up from the podium. I could see the Headmistress’s  _ that was it? _ look, but I guess she’s had no experience with Toph or I. _Yes, that's it, sorry. I do run a country of countless_ _people. _It didn’t matter, the crowd ate it up and kowtowed.

Actually Important Matters:

I left after giving the brevetic speech, got back in the Imperial Carriage and was taken back to the Palace. Horns sounded, nobody was inside Zuko’s Guest House, and I thanked the Kyoshi Warriors for the bodyguarding. I suggested they go find Ty Lee, “she’ll be a fun challenge for the Consort’s Fangirls. Maybe you can get her to join". I walked up the thousand steps, Suki at my side, now clear thanks to the heat from the sun, and was greeted by Grand Secretariat Han. “How was the Ceremony, Your Majesty?” He tucked his hands in his sleeves and bowed. “Suki, a minute?” I quietly said. I heard her footsteps descend the staircase. Now we’d get serious. 

“Scout ships have been spotted in the Straits of Roku” he said while we walked into the Imperial Palace. “Crescent Island? What of Chan’s mystery fleet?” our feet pittered and pattered along the squeaky floors. “The last of our scout reports said he departed Fire Fountain City a week ago. That would place him a few days by sail from the Straits”. I felt a wave of tension overtake me like a shivering cold.  _ An entire mystery fleet _ . “How fast can we muster the Imperial Army?” I quickened my pace, now set on going to the Badgermole Throne. “The closest position to Crescent Island is Fong’s base and his large dockyard. Latest information says he’s residing there. How’s in the Council Tower, Song’s in Yu Dao, Zhi’s getting hammered in the Middle Ring and Jun is assaulting  _ daofei _ lands in the South.” “I meant the actual army”. “Fong is with his personal retinue, Song’s leading the Western-” I raised my hand. “I order you to send out a muster!” He bowed, we went back to the Imperial Bedroom, now vacant and drew up a muster. 

The Colonial Corps, the Army of the South, the Army of the West and the Army of the Center are to muster at Fong’s base. The Colonial Navy will dock at Osaka while much of the Earth Navy -many junks were still needed on patrol across the Kingdom- docks at Fong’s Fortress, as recently it acquired a massive dockyard to equal Caldera in size. I stamped the paper and Han had it sent to the Dai Li’s postal office. It’d be copied and sent via messenger hawk across the Kingdom. Another perk of the Dai Li. Their postal service is extremely efficient and fast. Plus, you _know _its going to be kept safe because its guarded by the greatest -and most terrifying- defenders of the Earth Kingdom. But first, I was to get Her Imperial Majesty’s permission. 

Walking through the large doors, the Ministers holding the Afternoon Edict Meeting stood and bowed. I passed by them all and walked up to the veiled Earth Queen. “Oh,  _ Kyoshi,  _ you’ve returned!”  _ shoulder punch _ . I got really close to her ear and whispered “Toph, we’ve got news of the Fire Navy mustering off to the west of the Earth Kingdom. Can I have your permission to have the Imperial Army muster?” Now, unlike me, Toph wasn’t afraid of whispering. “Do we get to blow stuff up?” she screamed, practically shaking the ground. “Yes” I nodded all formally. “Do it!” and stomped the ground while getting up and dragged me out of the Throne Room. The Ministers and their aides stood and bowed and bowed while I yelled “ow” as she tugged on my ear. As of writing this, the papers are being copied. 

Opportunity Strikes:

Suki returned to my side and we went to find Prince Zuko. We  _ did _ find someone at his Guest House, but it wasn’t Zuko. The door opened. “Oh, its you guys” Mai yawned while stretching in her sleepwear. “It’s the middle of the day, why are you asleep?” Suki pestered her. “Best time to sleep” she yawned again. “Where’s the Prince? Where’s Ty Lee?” I asked while resisting the urge to yawn. “Drinking tea and hanging out with your fangirls, respectively” and she slammed the door shut. The two of us exchanged “huh”s while a pair of Dai Li slid down the roof and asked “do you want us to imprison her for disrespecting-” but I halted him. “No” and we set off for the Jasmine Dragon. No carriage, just the two of us with a quite relaxed Dai Li perimeter force. This was the _inner_ perimeter force.   


“Good afternoon, Your Majesty” Iroh bowed royalty-to-royalty. The two of us bowed back. The patrons got up and bowed. “I’m here to find-” but Zuko arrived, rubbing a teacup with a cloth. We were taken to the upstairs balcony, a table was taken out, and Zuko joined us for tea while Iroh ‘left us alone.’ “Let’s cut the pleasantries. Some guy named Admiral Chan is leading a fleet towards the Western Earth Kingdom. You want the war over, right?” He nodded. “The longer we wait, the more the  _ Shogun _ can recuperate from Sozin’s Comet. Soon, he might recover to the point that he can challenge our fleet at sea. Sure, he may never get the Colonies again, but he could definitely keep us in check.” “That makes sense” he rubbed his chin Iroh-style. “So, Prince, we’re going to end this war, once and for all”. “And what do you want of me?” I thought back to the wisdom I’ve learned in the past year.

“You and me. A new Fire Nation and a new Earth Kingdom. Bring on a new era of peace”.  _ That did it _ . “I need to go speak to Uncle” but Iroh was standing next to us the whole time. “Do it”.  _ Well that was easy _ .

So I’m writing this right before departing for General Fong’s Fortress. On the ride there, we will draw up the war plans. The Final War. That's what the bards call it. Kyoshi would probably slap them and say "there's no such thing as a final war". At our disposal, the Colonial and Earth Navy. The Imperial Army. Siege weapons of varying types. Aircraft. Tanks. The Royal Metalbending Guard. The Dai Li. The Kyoshi Warriors. Counting our allies; the Dragon of the West and his dragon. Against us? A power-hungry Shogun and one Admiral leading a fleet of fishing ships and rusty ancient cruisers. 

Long Live Her Imperial Majesty. 

Maybe I should invent a new titular title. If Ozai got Phoenix King for daring to end the Hundred Year War, maybe Toph should get something similar too.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, the Treaty of Versailles except one country holds all the cards!


	56. The New Map of the World

HIM Entry LVI:

“Go live in the Southern Air Temple”

An Odd Assembly:

The following is a list of people who attended the War Planning Session aboard the Imperial Carriage of the monorail. Most of these individuals had quarters on carriages attached to ours. Get ready for titles, titles a plenty. 

Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen, the Lady of Gaoling, the Daughter of the Spirits, the Blind Bandit, the Liberator of Ba Sing Se, the Reformer, the Slayer of Tyrants, the Inventor of Metalbending, and so on... and finally Queen of Ten Thousand Years! and also informally, Toph Beifong. Myself, the Imperial Consort, the One-Eyed Badgermole, the Queen’s Speaker, and all those other titles. Commander of all Imperial Forces, Commander of the Imperial Navy, General of the Center, How. Grand Secretariat Han. Interim General of the Imperial Flying Fleet, the Mechanist. Note: The Imperial Flying Fleet is a detachment of the Imperial Army of the West. Captain of the Royal Metalbending Guard, Wuhan. Captain of His Imperial Majesty’s Guard, Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors, Suki. This isn’t counting the Royal Guard or Kyoshi Warriors present. 

His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Zuko. His Royal Highness, the Dragon of the West, Grand Lotus, Iroh. His dragon, Druk, flew alongside the monorail. The Lady Mai and the Lady Ty Lee.  It should be said the two Ladies were “bored” of discussing war and instead remained in their quarters. It should also be said that, sure, Mai counts as a Lady, but Ty Lee is just a random young woman.  His Highness, Prince of the Southern Water Tribe Chiefdoms and Fiefdoms, the Seductionbender, Sokka. Is that an actual title? I have no idea. Is Sokka a Prince? Maybe? I'd find out Water Tribe customs for laws but I really can't be bothered to.   


A One Sided World Leader Conference:

A map of the entire world was laid out on a flat stone table. Toph and I had seats on one side of the table, sitting right behind the Eastern Earth Kingdom. Zuko and Iroh sat across from us, behind the shores of the main Fire Island. Sokka to our left and their right, behind the dot marking the South Pole. The three parties were pretty clearly laid out. The rest of the attendees, save Wuhan and Suki, filled out the chairs.

“I hate to play Chin Advocate” Sokka chimed in, “but there’s Four Nations and only Three at the table”. So I began with my rehearsed logic. “Well this represents the three victors: The Earth Kingdom, the pro-peace Fire Nation and the Water Tribes”. “But Aang is an Air Nomad, they are one of the Four Nations-” but he was cut off by Zuko. “Did you suddenly swap with your sister? Aang is one person” Iroh shook his head in disappointment. “He’s still an entire Nation” Sokka, demonstrating a bad case of Earth Kingdom, had some backbone and _argued_. “He’s one person and he’s not even a victor!” Zuko shouted, putting his fist down on the table. “What do you mean ‘he’s not a victor’? He’s the Avatar-”, “I order the two lovers to stop!” Toph shrieked  _ right next to my ears _ , grabbed the table and shook it. _  
_

“Kyoshi, do the history thing!” and she punched me in the shoulder. “What history thing?” I tried to lean back in to ask but got pushed instead. The other parties watched me, probably trying to figure out what I was going to say. _Let's see. Scowl. Disappointing Iroh face. 'I need some meat'. How's 'why are we taking these adolescents seriously?' Han's not that intimidating Dai Li face. And finally, Toph's dead eyes_. I sat there in silence, hands to my head, thinking. “So…” Zuko pinched his nose to avoid exploding. 

A short history lesson for future monarchs. The following was information I was taught back on Kyoshi Island by Oyaji through folk tales. 

“Sokka, Zuko, the Four Nations weren’t always Four Nations. Firstly, the Fire Nation has gone through many warring periods. Whether a Fire Sage rules the lands, a Fire Avatar -that happened- or a Fire Lord, most of the Fire Nation’s history has been self-destructive warlords. Secondly, most of the Air Nomad land is deserted. The Southern and Northern Temples are but a few temples each. Are they sprawling structures? Yes. The rest of the ranges they inhabit are theirs only because subpolar mountain ranges aren’t attractive living places. The concept of “the Air Nomads residing across the lands of the Air Nation” is pure myth. They had caves to meditate in and some peaks had spiritual significance, but they didn’t have towns and only a few villages, though the correct term is Airbender Commune. This was why they had such small populations and said populations were so susceptible to Sozin’s assault. The Water Tribes were once unified, long ago. Then they split into two, Northern and Southern. They have lots of villages scattered along either coastline, but that's about it. Finally, the Earth Kingdom can be comprised of dozens of independent states one generation and a centralized monarchy the next. The Earth King, as a title, has been around for as long as the world. The point is, this concept of Four Nations is a fantasy”. 

Sokka looked like he fell asleep, Zuko was in shock. “How do you know this?” he asked out of genuine surprise. My Toph-worthy response: “I know my history.” Sokka randomly stirred. “So-” and I interrupted him. “Also, we hold all the Pai Sho tiles here. Whatever history I say is going to be reinforced by the full might of the Imperial Army, right Your-” but she put a hand to my mouth. “No, whatever  _ I _ ” and she kissed her other fist “say will be reinforced by the full might of the Imperial Army” I sighed -into her palm- out of  _ well-that-went-well _ . “But, I agree with everything Kyoshi said.”  _ Well that went well.   
_

“Wouldn’t Aang be angry to hear this?” Sokka stated while running his finger along the montane archipelago of the Southern Air Temple. Toph metal bent over her spittoon for the purposes of spitting in it. Then she nudged me. _Ow. I have ears._ “Probably”. Zuko slapped his face. “How are you okay with angering  _ the Avatar _ ” but Toph shot him back “how are you okay with chasing  _ the Avatar _ ?” and the two exchanged deathly glare and angry scowl. “Can I get you two some tea?” Iroh interjected, probably trying to halt another worldwide conflict in the making. “Yes” Toph cheerily piped in. “No” Zuko said through a scowl.

Sokka, being the reasonable one, tried to continue the correct tangent. “So what are you planning to tell Aang? You sliced up his land?” and I nodded. “Not all of it, if he’s annoyed he can go live in the Southern Air Temple”. “That doesn’t help things” he fired back while Iroh arrived with tea. I resorted to improvising, as the truth detector is on my side. “Well, this wouldn’t be the first time in history decisions like this were made” I said while acting as Toph’s cup-bearer. “That makes things easier, I guess” Sokka said scratching his five chin hairs. "Oh, and Sokka, you need to shave" _says the guy with a feeble attempt at a beard and a long queue, both of which only exist so Toph can grab them_.  


Zuko finished scratching the area around his scar. “So, Your Majesty, how is this slicing going to work?” and I smirked. “Finally!” I got out of my seat and pointed at the Northern Air Temple. “Okay, so here’s what's going to happen. We’re going to go around the table, picking regions that we didn’t possess before.” Sokka went wide-eyed and Zuko looked like he walked into a gambling den full of bounty hunters with no money and lots of debt. “What?” the two said in sync.  _ Good job, Consort, you made them friends! Oh, Toph would shoulder punch you right now if she wasn't imagining fifty cactus juice fantasies that sounded more interesting!   
_

What indeed. I was inspired by the partitioning of desserts back on Kyoshi Island. Said partitioning involved a blade and cutting the cake into slices. There’s no record of this strategy being used at any point in history. Most likely because two rulers of massive centralized nations have never sat in the same room before.   


Sokka repeated the claim that was as dead as the Air Nomads. “That’s not fair to the Avatar, though”. So I repeated the Imperial response. “I don’t care.” Before  _ we _ turned the table into a dueling ring, Iroh politely nudged his way into this conversation with his stomach. “If I may make a suggestion, Your Majesty” “Go ahead” I approved him. “The Southern Water Tribe could take the Southern Air Temple, then hand it over to the Avatar.” I nodded, Iroh smiled and we awaited Sokka to finish deliberating this oh so impossible decision. “Fine” he grumbled. I pulled the caveat, also known as the perk of running this whole ‘treaty’. _No, Toph. Please don't jump in and claim I don't run it. Please._ “That’s great, you’re third” “What?” he said, surprised that the team running the peace treaty would try something like going first.  


“As we are the primary victors, we get to go first. Zuko, representing the pro-peace Fire Nation, the second largest Nation, the only other nation with any form of industry, goes second. The Southern Water Tribe barely exists, thus they are third”. Sokka  _ knew _ there was nothing he could do, so he resigned himself to a groan. Toph grinned. _Thanks Toph, I knew you'd enjoy going first_. “As Her Imperial Majesty lacks eyesight, I will be representing the Earth Kingdom.” and I got up and grabbed some small, coin sized, green-painted stone tiles. We brought along a set of paperweights to help distinguish boundaries. They sat in a large bunch with four colors -green, red, blue and grey for neutral lands- to our right. I gathered the three batches up and had guards give Sokka and Zuko their colors. I took a single stone out. “Interim General of the Flying Fleet!” I called him over. The Mechanist bowed. “You always wanted the Northern Air Temple lands for research purposes, now you can have it.” and I placed a tile on the white painted lands. “Zuko, your choice?” he ran one of the red tiles over in his fingers. “Wouldn’t the Fire Nation look bad for just taking more land?” but I shook my head. “I…can we take land and just return it?” now  _ I _ was the one groaning. “I’ll just skip your turn if you do that”. So he placed his red tile on the Western Air Temple archipelago. _Hey, give back your land for all I care. Have fun. _Now it was Sokka’s turn. “The Southern Air Temple!” and he placed his blue tile down. 

“As the Earth Kingdom already owns the Colonies and the Northern Water Tribe, we are going to pick the Eastern Air Temple”. Sokka looked like he was about to kill me because I imprisoned his girlfriend. _Not yet, buddy. Toph wants her to restart the Air Nation first so we can get some trade__ agreements with them_. “But you said you put a garrison in the North!” Sokka shouted. “We did, and as the Northern Water Tribe was hammered by the old Colonial Navy, they are now a Colony of the Earth Kingdom.” But Sokka wasn’t satisfied. “I’m not satisfied with that answer”. Toph slammed the table again. “I don’t care. And there’s nothing you can do about it.” and she leaned over to do some toe picking. On Zuko’s turn, he looked over the map and became confused. “All the land is gone. What were all these other pieces for?” he said while placing each individual tile on the western seas to count them up. 

Sokka produced a magnifying glass from  _ somewhere _ , thanks magical bag, one attached to his head via a cap, and looked at the map. “What’s with all these small islands all over the place,” he said, dragging his finger from dot to dot. I walked around the map table to point at a grouping of dots to the southwest of the Northern Water Tribe. “That’s a deserted island chain. I don’t think anyone lives there” and I moved my finger further south “as is that” but Zuko put his hand in front of mine “the Sun Warriors might live there. The last tribe we found was on an isolated island not far from the Western Air Temple.” That threw a bit of a naginata into things. “As you can see over here” and I walked back over to put my to the south of Yu Dao, “there’s various small islands off the Western Earth Kingdom, but they are de jure Earth Kingdom land.” I thereafter went to sit down again. 

“Your Majesty, may I make a request?” General How bowed. “Go ahead” I said while adjusting myself in my seat. “The Earth Kingdom should increase the territorial waters to both accommodate the Colonial Navy and help provide a first line of defense for the Earth Kingdom”. Sokka and Zuko couldn’t stop his request. I took a set of green tiles and pushed them up to Crescent Island. “The new territorial water boundaries are as follows” and sat back down. Zuko yelled. “That’s...that’s Fire Nation waters!” In classic Toph response, I said “I don’t care.” then added my own, possibly usable, logic. “It’s an even spaced distance. Whaletail Island is a formidable defensive position and property of the current Fire Nation. Thus, while we won’t take the Southern Air Temple, we need the border waters to extend up to Whaletail for our protection. Crescent Island happens to be closer to us than Whaletail Island, and thus finds itself inside our territorial waters.” “But-” I interrupted Zuko’s remarks, “Crescent Island will be neutral ground” and I placed a grey tile on it. Iroh consoled Zuko, “Nephew, it's a deserted volcanic rock, it's not worth that much.” 

Eventually, I think Sokka and Zuko realized there was  _ nothing _ they could do about this, so they agreed to a variety of deals like Earth Kingdom garrisons on Whaletail and Crescent Island. 

A New Air Temple:

“And for the Avatar, he can have this island to the west of Magister Loban’s refineries. We’ll even give him a detachment of the Imperial Army to build his home there” and I took one of each tile and placed them on an island off the coast of the Western Earth Kingdom, just to the west of the Taku Valley. They both recall Loban as being a “rich industrial mogul” who has a massive refinery along the coast. As of writing this, his crystal mining has made him so rich he could afford to import earthbenders to build him a town. The Dai Li report that he only has one refinery and a couple shops, but has built up the docks and a monorail line. Just as old Taku was a commercial hub, New Taku should become one as well. His town sits right along the coastline, an expansive bay, the river valley that would go on to originate in the southwestern corner of the West Lake, in turn fed by the mountains south of Ba Sing Se. At its rate of growth, it will become equal to Yu Dao within a few years. 

I chose this small island for a few reasons: I don’t want the Avatar residing off the coast of one of the main Colonies, nor do I want him living on some far off Air Temple. And most importantly, the Dai Li claim he spent multiple nights on that island. Sokka verified our reports. “Funny you mention that, Aang felt an attachment to that one specific island.” Toph chuckled. I halted further inquiries, “good, that’s good” and yelled “Someone get my proclamation in writing and have it sent to the Avatar” and Wuhan bowed. “Right away, Your Majesty”. 

I wrote the following letter on a map of the world:

_ To Your Holiness, the Avatar, Aang and Your Highness, the Princess of the Southern Water Tribe, the Lady Katara, _

_ As compensation from the Earth Kingdom Monarchy for assistance in the Hundred Year War, Her Imperial Majesty has given you an island, marked in the enclosed map below, to make your official residence and to help usher in a new era of cultural exchange. _

_ Long Live Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen, the Lady of Gaoling, Daughter of the Spirits, the Blind Bandit, the Liberator of Ba Sing Se, the Reformer, the Inventor of Metalbending, Slayer of Fire Lord Ozai, Queen of Ten Thousand Years _

_ Written by His Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Consort, of the Blood of Kyoshi, the One-Eyed Badgermole, the Fist of the Queen, Slayer of Shinji, the Duelist  
_

We stamped it, drew a circle around the appropriate island, awaited the ink to dry, then rolled it up and sent it off with a messenger hawk at the next Earth Kingdom depot. We stopped at this depot for the night, Druk slept in the fields while we ate dinner, locally caught and processed meats of unknown animal origin that tasted delicious.

One day, the Avatar will come to us and be annoyed that we took the Air Temples. So we'll pull out of the Northern and Eastern Air Temples. By then, the Mechanist and or the Imperial Army will have looted them for every possible secret to flight and every historical document that may or may not exist.

As for the Colonies? Han and I met up in a private carriage. He warned me that granting the Colonies the right to elect their own officials will have problems in the long run. "Your Majesty, they might elect themselves to secede" he argued. "How would that work?" I countered. "Technically, you gave them no restrictions on what they can and can't vote for. They can hold elections as often as they vote for the elections to take place. From there, they just need to find people pro-independance".

But there's no chance that a hotbed of ethnic conflict with a pacifist living in their midst could vote for seceding, right? Its not like they are self-sufficient and have a mentality of 'progress' and/or just abandoned a centralized monarchy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, drawing up a War Plan!
> 
> Author's Note:  
Democracies are great. Populist-based systems of government are great. Unless you're a centralized, authoritarian, monarchy. 
> 
> (Russian Revolution intensifies) (Xinhai Revolution intensifies) (Ungrateful Colonists intensify)


	57. The Plan to End All Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A war plan is drawn up and Sokka proves his genius once again.

HIM Entry LVII:

Planning a war is much like trying to remove the calluses from Her Imperial Majesty,  _ thanks Lee _ , it entails lots of rock-related pillars and some inventive metalbending, drags on forever and by the time it's done, I’m tired and sweaty and she's probably made me go half-deaf. Oh, and it never actually finishes.   


The same band of Generals and Princes joined us for the War Meeting. Various bows and pleasantries were traded. The discussion for partitioned land still remained in the air, namely Zuko being unsure of the whole “take the Western Air Temple” plan. Was it going to be a Colony? A protectorate? “Who in the name of Agni would move to a bunch of rocky outcroppings?”  _ Not my problem, the Northern Air Temple is great for developing aircraft and if the reports from the eastern Earth Islands are true, the Eastern Air Temple has massive fishing stocks.  _ “Prince Zuko, can we move on to more important matters?” I asked from my seat. He exhaled some flames and calmed himself down. “Forgive me, I’m just getting tired of all this war” “Well I’m not! Let’s do this”  _ That-a-Queen, Toph _ . Han opened up a large map and held it down with paperweights. It was an in-depth map of the Mo Ce Sea between and including Crescent Island and Fong’s Fortress. 

An Overview of Forces Present:

While the rest of the Generals sat fondling their beards, How walked over to a cabinet and retrieved an armful of stone figures. “Here’s the Earth Kingdom Forces” and he dumped a pile of figures onto the scroll. “Where...does the Earth Kingdom just have infinite men?” Sokka asked, exacerbated. I corrected him. “Yes. The Earth Kingdom prides itself on tossing waves of barely trained men -and now, women- at defensive positions. It's impossible to conquer us because you can kill thousands of us per battle and we'll reinforce with hundreds of thousands. There's simply too many of us to count and so many of them are impoverished, smelly, untrained, undiscliplined, fanatically religious, peasants, that a glorious death for Her Imperial Majesty is about the highest they can wish for on the ladder of social status.” Zuko tapped his chin “Grandfather never had an army this large. I thought he won using flanking and tactics” and I had to correct him. "No, your grandfather fought a disunified set of provinces pretending to be the Earth Kingdom. Hu Xin might fall and the men from Xisenlin couldn't be bothered to show up. If the Earth Kingdom is unified under one banner, its impossible to stop our tidal wave of men, and now women."  


General How organized the figures and began lecturing. He spent most of the time facing us.

“The Western Imperial Navy consists of some eight hundred four-masted junks. The Southern Navy has to stay in the south, fighting pirates. Another thousand ships there. Then the Eastern Navy. A thousand ships there. Then the Northern Navy, some seven hundred ships. Not all of these are four-masted junks, though. Fong built an artificial cove with small islands in the middle of the cove connected by a neck of land to the mainland. These islands allocate more spots for ships to load troops and provisions. As for defenses, the ships have slots filled with fortified earth discs. All eight hundred summoned ships support a carrying capacity of more than a hundred thousand men.”

“The Colonial Navy under Admiral Jee consists of about a dozen modern Fire Navy cruisers and two dozen older models, patrol ships. They-” Zuko coughed to interrupt. How turned to his right to face Zuko, “yes, Your Royal Highness?” Zuko explained that his ship model, the  _ Wani _ , was one of these ancient designs. Why did we need to know? He was saying “it’s a terrible ship and only good at a blockade runner”. How complimented him for “providing useful information”. He thus resumed facing us and continued explaining the force overview. “Admiral Jee leads the fleet from the IEN  _ Kyoshijima _ . It carries twelve biplanes, each one has floats to land on. Meanwhile, each cruiser has two artillery batteries on the top-deck, bowside. In addition, they bear a large complement of fortified earth disc firing positions located all along the sides, front and back.” Sokka proceeded to ask if the Earth Navy had any lighter cutter models. “The Earth Navy has favored troop transports over military vessels. As for cutters, the civilian population has a variety of oceangoing sailing ships, why?” Why was Sokka so interested, he said “I’d save the details for the plan part of the meeting” and quieted up. 

On to the Imperial Army, “Due to the constant troop movements, we’ve been unable to take an accurate census since before the Black Sun Offensive. It should be mentioned that despite all the casualties, the Imperial Armies have gained thousands of new recruits. Female recruits. Thus, we believe that the Army of the South has roughly its full hundred thousand complement. Imperial Commander of the East, General Jun, has faced heavy resistance in his war against the  _ daofei _ 'lords' of the Eastern province of Huizhou. I have sent him multiple divisions from the Army of the Center. Imperial Commander of the West, General Song, has dispatched most of the Army of the West to further production of the infrastructure lines”.  _ Well that’s idiotic. We've got a war and he's...building rail lines? _ “As such, we can either order the Army of the West to join us or we can let them continue their campaign to expand the monorail lines”. I put my fist down. “No, we’ve already made it clear that the longer we wait, the more the Shogun’s claim to the throne grows” while I squinted at Zuko to make it extra clear who I was referring to. Toph pointed at me, poking me in the cheek because she missed her aim, and went "He's right". “Very good, Your Majesty” How nodded and retrieved a scroll. 

“The Army of the South won’t be alone in the mustering. A massive number of, and I quote” and General How opened up a scroll. “‘Earthbenders loyal to the Badgermole Throne’ led by a populist leader named Tyro, no I have no idea what his rank is, consisting of some thirty thousand militia quote ‘who’ve lost everything to the Fire Nation’ are going to be joining us. They will provide a substantial reserve force. They also happen to be rabble loosely organized into a fighting force and greatly inferior to the Imperial Army standards”.  _ Right, because the Imperial Army isn’t a mob of men who just so happen to be trained to march in formation.  
_

“The Imperial Flying Fleet, so named the Imperial Air Corps for simplicity, will send most of its aircraft to General Fong’s Fortress. From there, they will be transported by ship. Interim General, you have something to add?” and How backed up and moved to the side, letting the Mechanist take his spot. “Yes, I believe I do” he adjusted his glasses. “Each monoplane or biplane now has space to carry explosives. Depending on preference, we have the option of one torpedo or one bomb. We’ve had no need for anti-aircraft armament as we’ve had no experience again enemy aircraft and we don’t believe the Fire Nation possesses any.” I raised my hand. “Yes, Your Majesty?” he bowed. “Why assume the Fire Nation lacks aircraft? Prince Zuko…?” and I held my tongue. My reason for concern, I assume, was simple. The Fire Nation is quite inventive and I wasn’t going to put it past them. Time would tell whether I was right or wrong... “What? I have no idea what the Fire Nation does or doesn’t have” and he shrugged his shoulders. “Your Majesty, if I may?” the Mechanist bowed again. “Go ahead”. “What could I possible stick on an aircraft? A crossbow? A large boulder?” The guards seemed to take that as an insult and grabbed him. I raised my hand to halt them. “Forgive me Your Majesty?” he begged, hands raised in prayer. I rolled my lone eye while the other parties looked on expected this to turn into a bloodbath. “General How, please continue. Thank you, Interim General of the Flying Fleet” and I ushered him to go back to his seat. He bowed, praising me for mercy while How walked back up to his lecture spot. “The aircraft will be parked in Fong’s hangers along the dockside for use against the Fire Navy docked at Crescent Island. One biplane has been painted turquoise for the specific use by Your Imperial Majesty. It bears a gold fan in the place of the regular Earth Kingdom emblem”. Toph smirked. “That’s awfully nice of you” she said in a girly voice and wiped away tears “but I can’t fly a plane”. That,  _ slaps table _ , is the sound of Sokka and Zuko slapping their faces at the same time. “Forgive me Your Majesty, I was referring to His Imperial Majesty”. She finished wiping away tears and resumed a normal, sensible, voice. “That makes much more sense” and gave me a shoulder punch. Suki smiled. She and I were probably thinking the same thing:  _ If only Kyoshi would know her descendants would eventually conquer her greatest opponent, airbending.  _ Actually, maybe she was just enjoying the sight of Sokka dueling a table and losing. Makes much less poetic sense but sounds more like a Suki thing to do.  


“The Imperial Armored Corps and Imperial Artillery Corps will be transported by the Earth Navy. In the wishes of the Monarchy, we have ten artillery pieces for every one tank. The artillery will be able to lay siege to Caldera from beyond counter-battery range. The tanks can be loaded into the cruisers and deploy amphibiously.” 

“By far, our greatest non-human weapon is the Imperial Siege Cannon. It’s the size of a cruiser and requires being separated into a dozen pieces to be transported by ship. It is thin enough to be transported by rail, and thus has been pedaled along to its own private parking spot at Fong’s Fortress. Should the Fire Navy dare approach, we can open fire on them from as far as the eye could possibly see. It requires almost a hundred soldiers to set up and a dozen Royal Guard in total to operate” Toph chuckled. “Or one me!” Does _anything _scare her? Probably not. Overly-powerful people, like Avatar Kyoshi, have no fear of anything. Also, Kyoshi probably told death to go die and thus got to live another hundred thirty years.  


“Finally, a fleet of gliders is also being brought along. The Dai Li -and other insane volunteers- will be available for any stealth missions planned.” And he bowed. Everyone sat there silently so I decided to applaud him, clapping. “Good speech, General How. Thanks for the information!” and everyone else joined in with clapping. I let the clapping dissipate naturally, then asked a question. “Now, with us covered, what about the Fire Nation?” 

Having put the green figures down in a rough pile, he moved to the right slightly and touched Crescent Island. “The Royal Fire Navy under Admiral Chan is going to be our main opponent. Our reports say the Shogun has stuffed his last stand fleet with the Domestic Forces. It is unknown what his flagship is. There are rumors of a ship even larger than the Empire-Class being used. Prince Zuko?” He shrugged. “Didn’t I already tell you or His Majesty I have no idea if he did or didn’t?” At the time, I forgot whether he even said that. It sounds like something he’d say but judging by How’s response, I wasn’t the only one who forgot. How accepted the statement and apologized. “If this ship is as large as rumors claim and is just like the Empire Class but bigger, it could fit sixteen trebuchets”.  _ Oh no. That's alot of trebuchets. If only we had one Toph to drop like a bomb from an aircraft _ . “Regardless, the Royal Fire Navy is estimated to be a couple hundred ships in size. Most of these ships are fishing vessels requisitioned by the Shogun. As such, the Fire Navy likely only has a couple dozen offensive ships. The danger would come from them landing at Fong’s Fortress. The Earth Navy, being mostly wooden, is quite burnable. Our large fire stations, massive stone cisterns filled with water, can be filled with water and dumped on flaming ships using earthbending. If the Fire Navy wishes to get so close to the coast, they will come under fire from the artillery pieces awaiting transport, including the Siege Cannon, or the artillery positioned along the coast.” 

“The Fire Navy has one strongarm, the Southern Raiders. The Southern Raiders, led by a Commander pulled out of retirement, the ‘legendary’ Yon Rha.” In his prime, Yon Rha single handedly wiped out the Southern Water Tribe’s waterbenders save Katara and killed the previous Chief of the Southern Water Tribe in one-on-one combat. “The Southern Raiders use light cruisers, similar to the older model but much faster, and are proficient fighters.” and he went on to explain that, in short, the Southern Raiders were like militarized -more efficient- pirates.   


“Beyond the Fire Navy, there is little in the way of defenses that awaits us. Caldera is still in ruins. Anything damaged during Black Sun remains that way”. Sokka laughed. “Riiight, like we’re supposed to remember what we destroyed?” I nodded. General How continued with his formal voice. “The Great Gates of Azulon are functionally useless. The beachhead will be quite open for landing. Likewise, the coastline of the main island will be quite open for troop unloading.” And he coughed. I exchanged a look with Sokka. “That’s it?” we both said in sync. “I...forgive me Your Majesty, did I miss something?” the rest of us looked around as if expecting the answer to materialize. It did.  _ Screech. _ Druk came flying alongside us, his eye peering in through the windows to the left. Sokka jumped out of his seat. Iroh laughed while rubbing his stomach. “I think my good friend doesn’t want to be left out”. Sokka pointed at the dragon and yelled “that’s it! We need to plan this!” and Toph  _ groaned _ . 

“That’s what you’re here for, Boomerang!” Toph screeched. Sokka showcased his agility by spinning around and pointing at Toph. “And what are you doing there? Being lazy-” but he was halted by the two Royal Guards -those two women from earlier- standing behind him, grabbing him. I broke into laughter. “Sokka, you might want to apologize to Her Imperial Majesty for that” and he coughed, inhaled and exhaled and slithered out of their armholds. “Sorry  _ Your Imperial Majesty _ ” and he groveled. “Do continue groveling, I’m enjoying this” she said, halting her toe picking to  _ get up _ -which caused the entirety of the Earth Kingdom men and women present to bow. She walked up to a kowtowing Sokka. He shivered while I laughed and  _ I saw that smirk Zuko _ . 

“Captain Suki, here’s some whiskey” and a guard walked over with two whiskey flasks. She smiled, grabbed one while I another and we clinked our metallic cases together. Back on the Toph front, she made her voice nice and girly. “Prince of the Southern Water Tribe, to repay your  _ dishonorable _ misdemeanor, I require one foot kiss” and Suki and I  _ spat _ our whiskey out and onto the stone flooring before buckling over in rambunctious laughter. Said spasms made us fall onto the floor and into each other. _Headbutt_. “A kiss!” I shrieked. “Do it Sokka or” and I kept laughing. “Do it or I’ll have you dead-ed!” and I grabbed my sides from the laughter. The two female Royal Guards weren’t in a joking mood -remember, they’re new here- and drew their dao. “Now, kiss the underside!” Toph yelled out. 

_ Smooch _ . The world itself silenced to let us hear Sokka’s loud wet kiss plop its way onto the Agni-forsaken underside of the world’s filthiest feet. Toph recoiled in laughter. “You’re so sweet and strong!” and she spun around and picked me up by the back of my Wintertime Robes and pull me up to her height. “Yes?” I said looking into those dead pale eyes. Her voice returned to normal. “I’ll make you kiss my feet too”.  _ No. Agni. No. No. Please Agni. No. I’ll pray for once. Not here. Please no. No. _ “Can I...not?” and she dropped me face-first back into a puddle of whiskey. “Can I please  _ not  _ roll around in a puddle of indignity?” I shouted to the at attention guards standing to my side. “Get your Captain and Consort up!” and they ran over to pick us up. So I got up...to a wagging finger. “No so fast, Kyoshi” but we both yelled “Which one?” and Toph pinched my cheek to signal which one she referred to. 

“Prince Boomerang kissed my right foot, you kiss my left one and show him that the Earth Kingdom is the strongest of all!” and I hesitated. “Do I have a say in this?” and she laughed. “Of course not. Guards!” and the two women ran up to me. “Make the Consort kiss my foot!” and she picked her foot up and placed it on a stone seat. I don’t know what the rest of the Carriage was thinking at the time as my head was pushed over, my legs were forced to bend and I came face to heel with a dirty left foot. It's calluses made dragonscale look like baby skin. “Go on” and she wagged her toes. Her tiny toes on a tiny foot. _Never in the histories was a monarch forced to do this. But I'm no monarch. _I exhaled, grabbed the foot with my hands, and leaned in. But I halted at the last second. “Can I do this in a less embarrassing spot?” I asked, seeing Suki covering her mouth while laughing from the left. “I  _ could _ order you to be naked instead, would that help?” _okay, you win. _And I kissed her foot. Then I kissed it again. I practically made out with it. “You’re so sweet, Kyoshi.” and she pulled her foot off. “See Prince Boomerang, the Earth Kingdom is the strongest of all!” I wiped my face down with a cloth and sat back down in my seat.   


Was the most important War Plan in the history of the world just derailed by Toph? Yes, it was. How is that a surprise to anyone? Everything gets derailed by Her Imperial Majesty once Her Imperial Majesty gets bored. Was I actually afraid to kiss Toph’s feet? Not really, I’ve seen them more times than I can count and they’re quite wonderful feet. The instinctive guilt of such a publicly embarrassing action was what scared me. Then again, this is the Earth Kingdom. Kissing the Earth Queen’s feet is some kind of honor only a few people ever get to behold and I know twenty unnamed people offhand, that's why they are unnamed, who'd pay thousands of gold coins to do what I did.  


It’s a Long Long Way to Caldera:

An unknown period of time between a few minutes and more than a few minutes later, we got to planning. 

The Army of the West, alongside General Song, will arrive at Fong’s Fortress. The Army of the South is already loading itself into junks to prepare for departure.  


The Colonial Navy along with the Earth Navy’s vanguard will assault Crescent Island using bombers and with artillery pieces. 

The Fire Navy will be engaged and defeated at Crescent Island. From there, the Earth Navy will sail westwards in two detachments. 

The larger detachment will slowly go island-to-island pacifying them and deploying garrisons when needed. There's dozens of provinces to fight.  


The smaller detachment of a hundred ships will sail west at high speed to land at Caldera and the area around Caldera Cove. Junks carrying the parts of the Siege Cannon will land at a disembarking point to the north of Caldera Cove. From there, it will be unloaded and assembled overnight. A rail line will be constructed beneath it to push it forwards for more accurate firing. 

Defensive positions for batteries will be drawn up in a similar spot to where Sparky Boom Boom Man once blew me off my boat. Zuko and Iroh begged us to let them fly ahead and parley for a peaceful surrender. If they can depose the Shogun, they will surrender the Fire Nation to us. _Sure, have fun._ From there, the Colonial Navy outside the cove, the Imperial Artillery and the Siege Cannon will launch a multi-day artillery bombardment of Caldera. The Imperial Flying Fleet will launch from the  _ Kyoshijima _ and any temporary land airfields set up to engage in bombing sorties. 

After a couple nights of non stop firing, Dai Li and any volunteers will take gliders during the following night and infiltrate the city in a mimic of the Siege of Yu Dao. The Earth Kingdom 'milita' will launch an amphibious operation the next morning, landing at the same beachhead the Southern Water Tribe Navy once did.. Between the infiltration-turned-overthrowing and the full-frontal assault, the city is expected to fall. The Dai Li will find Azula and restrain her. Zuko has personally requested to keep Azula alive.

Once the Fire Nation has capitulated, whether peacefully -as Iroh and Zuko would prefer- or in a pile of rubble -as Toph would prefer- the Avatar will be notified and a massive coronation will be held to crown Zuko the new Fire Lord and possibly, Lady Mai as the new Fire Lady. As the new Fire Lord, he will order the Boiling Rock prison to release its prisoners. While giving the order, the Colonial Navy will sail northwest to find it and put it under siege. Should the warden dare to disobey Zuko’s order, the Dai Li will infiltrate the prison and kill the warden and every last guard that night.

“We’ll be home by the Spring Festival” How said.  _ Just in time to mark the first year of the reign of Her Imperial Majesty _ . The War Plan was agreed upon, tomorrow we will depart for Caldera.

Fong’s Fortress and Azure Docks:

The Imperial Carriage arrived with great fanfare. Looking out the windows, the old Fortress sat atop a mountain range. The train depot was located right off the docks. The signs called them the “Azure Docks”, clearly a hastily made up name for filling out paperwork. Speaking of the docks, imagine a sea of papers flapping in a stiff western breeze while a high -right, this place is _equatorial_, none of that far northern like Ba Sing Se or far southern like Kyoshi Island superior cold-as-death- sun toasts the paved stones. That sea of papers is what the sails of the junks looked like. The dockyard was flat, simple, practical. Thin strips of land jutting out into the artificial cove where flocks of ships hugged every bit of free space. The entire side of the cove was covered in junks. Most of them were loading a sea of conical hats. We exited the train and the massive buzzing crowd of men and women, dressed like Earth Kingdom soldiers, kowtowed. I gazed  _ up _ at the barrel of the siege cannon, located one house-length over, pointing towards an island beyond the world’s curve. The island wasn’t  _ that _ close, but I don’t think the proud platoon of artillerists manning it cared. “This thing will punch a hole through the sun itself if Her Imperial Majesty commanded it to” they quipped. We ordered the troops to continue marching about, and I got to listen in to a hundred-person column marching towards a ship singing.  


_ It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se  _ _ .  _

_ But the girls in the city/ _ _ they look so pretty .  _

_ And they kiss so sweet that you've really got to meet _

_ The girls from Ba Sing Se! _

_ It’s a long, long way to Cal-der-ee .  _

_ But the men shoot flames/ _ _ as do the dames .  _

_ And heroes we will be so you’ve really got to see/The flamin’ Cal-der-ee _

As if on perfect cue, they swapped to a different tune.

_On, on to Caldera!_   
_The seas will lead us_   
_Night has not fallen_   
_On, friends, to Caldera!_

_Again, let us return!_   
_The rim climbs ahead!_   
_The Palace stands high_   
_You will watch us with fear  
_

_Onwards to Caldera!_   
_Center of evil_   
_A long fight awaits_   
_A hundred years ends here!_

_Land of fire and ash_   
_Of rage and fury_   
_But the Earth is back_   
_And the mandate's with us!_

_Onwards to Caldera!_   
_Center of evil_   
_A long fight awaits_   
_A hundred years ends here!_

_ Onwards to Caldera!...  
_

My biplane was sitting on the carriage behind us, the gold fan shimmered beautifully with the ten black teardrop markings on the side. _One to a_ _kill_. Tanks grinded along towards their departures. That night, we enjoyed a private two person dinner in the Imperial Carriage. After writing up previous events, I went to sleep in usual position, Toph using me as a footrest.   


Surprise, it's the Fire Navy:

I was awoken -and quickly got up- by screaming from outside the window and Wuhan bursting down the wall. I slipped my scabbard on.   


“We’re under attack!” he yelled. "Grab her, leave me, get out of here, go, go go!", and I ran outside with bow in one hand and quiver in another.   


I looked ahead, the sea was _on_ _fire. _Junks were burning at the docks. Green candles were jumping overboard into a flaming sea. A mast on the nearest ship splintered, cracked and snapped in two, crushing anyone on land. Others were slinging rocks from the middle of the beach. I nocked an arrow. 

Something let out a ear-piercing screech from above and I looked towards the source of the sound. _No. It can't be._

Two carriages down, I spotted the defensive position just as it was hit by some kind of bomb.

I looked up just in time to see an artillery shell or an object that looked like it, with _wings_, and a flaming tail, fly just overhead.

It was propelled by a fire jet.

_A jet. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, Pearl Harbor! The final campaign begins with a bang! 
> 
> Thank you all for 50! kudos. That's...I would never have expected that many.


	58. The Surprise Attack at Azure Docks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fire Navy launches a surprise attack against the Western Earth Navy. Toph invents a new hobby, known as wind-surfing.

The following is transcribed from the Personal Journal of Her Imperial Majesty’s Captain of the Guard, Wuhan Zheng. From his entry titled “Surprise Assault at Azure Docks, Tenth Month of the Reign of Her Imperial Majesty, the 53rd Earth Queen”. 

A loud explosion was all it took to wake me from sleeping. I rolled out of the cot, metalbent the Imperial Armor on and kicked down the carriage wall. I didn’t even look to see what was attacking us. I saw ships burning and heard screaming and ran one carriage down to grab the Imperial Couple. Other Royal Metalbending Guards, Corporals Rui and Yong with a couple privates I didn’t know yet had joined me as I kicked down the wall while yelling “we’re under attack” to quickly wake the duo. 

His Imperial Majesty is a fearless man and a light sleeper. He was already up. He ordered the Royal Metalbending Guard to grab Her Imperial Majesty and make for a defensive bunker in the mountainside. He took a few seconds to stare in awe. I heard that distinctive sound of a bomb shrieking as it fell towards _ something _ and tackled His Imperial Majesty. I would’ve been honored to use my body as a last-ditch shield, but the Spirits favor us. The anti-air position three carriages down, the rear of the Imperial Train, was directly hit. Ten Royal Guards were standing there, firing SARs. While assisting His Imperial Majesty to stand up, I swore I’d return Second Lieutenant Gengxian’s letter -stored in the Imperial Palace’s RMG Barracks- to his only living sister back in the Lower Ring.

A monoplane came tumbling from the sky, on fire, and into one of the ships at dock. 

His Imperial Majesty “didn’t care” about the Imperial Carriage. “Protect the Earth Queen or there’s nothing to protect!” he barked to Corporal First-Class Xinyi, pushing the man in the rough direction of Imperial Commander Fong’s Fortress and accompanying hillside. I followed him as we ran along the carriage depot. I looked to the left while maintaining the run. 

Countless IEN junks were burning. I couldn’t look for long intervals, but out of a couple dozen ships I _ knew _ were supposed to be there from yesterday’s security sweep, only five weren’t on fire. Soldiers were diving off the flaming ships into the sea. A woman was pushing a stone slab with a heavily burned man twitching on it, his face coated in black ash. Only his eyes stuck out. “Wuhan, assist her!” His Imperial Majesty yelled upon seeing the soldier. 

After pushing the slab into the entrance of an underground bunker, I spotted His Imperial Majesty’s blue Informal Robes and ran up to him. He was running amidst a sea of men and women covered in ash. They were halting to bow and chant praises. “Go hammer them, Fist of the Queen!” he kept running. They parted like a tide against a rock for me seeing my Imperial Armor. “Your Majesty!” I could barely yell out over the ear-piercing screaming encompassing us. Men and women were coming ashore on fire, falling over and burning alive. While earth boulders may be painful, I’d prefer a quick death by an earth boulder to a slow, torturous, burn. 

He turned to the side and yelled “Wuhan, airfield!” and I jumped up, started an earth wave, grabbed his hand and ran towards the wide cave built right into the mountain. Looking off to my left every few seconds, I spotted more people diving off ships and screaming. Only now did I see the source of all this. These tiny metal objects, they looked like artillery shells except pointier tips and less cylindrical. And they had two sloped back wings, like falcon-fishers from back home. A glance let me see a hole in their rear where a flame tail spewed out. By whatever means, the vehicle was propelled by a fire jet. It also had a tiny propeller at the front, but that seemed too small to have an effect.

One of these Agni fueled bastards came in low above us. I looked up for a split second and noticed that the miniaturized bomb bay doors were open and someone punched a fireball out through it. It hit a young male soldier running to our left on his conical hat and dissipated quickly. My legs kept peddling us northeast towards the airfield. I spotted a monoplane bearing a red earth coin take off while a female guided the aircraft for takeoff with torch-palms. The pilot pulled up and just missed one of these tiny bastards while it pulled some cool “stop jet then start them up” spin trick nonsense. It turned on a coin and gave chase to the monoplane. I couldn’t afford to continue looking because loud booms. 

That large crowd behind us? They also got turned into a cloud of smoke and before I knew it, I got slapped with somebody’s hand. I don’t know who, but I saw a shimmering ring. The SARs had no effect on these things. They’d just roll their little-dart-bastard upside down and dodge the massive anti-aircraft projectile. We passed a four-man defensive position. They spotted His Imperial Majesty and brought their hands up to bow for a second before resuming their barrage. I didn’t know any of them as they were all Earth Kingdom soldiers. Sorry journal, I can’t write any more of this. I’ve seen people burn before. I’ve seen lots of people die in my service to two Kings and one Queen. I’ve never seen _ this _level of death before. But this? This has a kind of intimacy, a 'at any moment you could die' feeling that I've never experienced in all my years. I’m off to sleep.

HIM Entry LVIII:

I thought Sozin’s Comet taught me what fire was. It did. Mountains can burn. Entire regions of the world map can burn. One nutjob flying around the sky can cause so much destruction. I’ve never seen this much before, though. It truly makes Yu Dao look small by comparison. 

The Jet, The Flame Darts, Nicknamed “The Lil’ Azula”:

Ozai’s, in the words of Toph, “giant fuckoff” Air Fleet was coming from one direction. And the zeppelins were big, slow targets for our anti-aircraft positions. The tiny balloons could be pierced with a crossbow bolt. These aircraft were everything Ozai’s arrogant fleet wasn’t. They were tiny and were fast. SARs were useless against them. As was an archer. While I was being dragged along an earth wave by Wuhan, I spotted a defensive position launching earth discs at the attacking jets. One lucky shot, the soldier predicted it quite well, hit the dart side-on as it came in for a strafing pass. The dart was rocked and tumbled in a spin to the left before almost seeming to regain control just to dive into a not-yet burning junk and _ explode _ , sending wooden shrapnel upwards.

The aircraft storage bay was hidden inside a long, wide, cave. These tiny metal jets were great at dive-bombing but it seemed quite hard for them to attack the cave. They’d try diving at it from high above but would always have to pull up before getting a shot off. Pilots jumping into their monoplanes and biplanes cheered as I went inside the torchlight-lit cavern. “Your Imperial Majesty, welcome!” and I spun around to see The Mechanist with two Colonial Corps soldiers at his side. “What in the name of Her Imperial Majesty is happening? What are these things?” I asked, now clear of the errant explosion and the tidal wave of yelling. Soldiers were running past our conversation pushing stone slabs with their torched allies on them. 

“At sunrise, these Lil’ Azulas as the soldiers call them, though I” he adjusted his glasses “would prefer calling them the FN Mark I Jet Fighter-Bomber, the Fire Dart, surprised us. A couple dozen of them just, boom, showed up, before we could even raise the alarms. They’re as stealthy as my glider designs and look a lot like ‘em too. They have little Fire Navy insignias under and above each wing and on the tail rudder. Each one seems to carry a bomb, but the pilot also uses the bomb bay to shoot fireballs out of. The propulsion seems to be caused by either the pilot or, possible, a second man in the backseat whose job it is to have a continuous stream of fire emitting from the tailpipe.” I nodded, giving him a “thanks” then ran off for my personal fan-sigiled biplane. Wuhan grabbed me by the neck of my robe. “Your Majesty, you _ will _ die if you get in that thing.” I couldn’t disagree with him. “Fine, when we defeat these jets, I’m getting inside this thing to go bomb the Fire Navy”, I grabbed a bow and quiver from the armory and I walked back to the edge of the warehouse, where I was greeted by a tiny running blind earthbender dressed in her favorite fashion. 

“Toph!” I yelled, running over to hug her. I got a palm in the face. “Not now, first kill, then punch”. _ Words to die by _. Looking ahead, much of the junk fleet was listing or outright sinking. Green figures tried putting individual junks out. My vision was interrupted by Toph grabbed me and diving for the ground. “What was that for-” and I halted my own question. A small metal dart whirring by just overhead. “You can hear them, can’t you” I said in a surprised voice. “In the name of me, that’s right!” and she got back up. “And if you can hear them-” and she cut me off “I can feel them, which means I can-” and she set off, running. “Guards, protect the Earth Queen!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying to outscream the dying immolated burn victims. Instead, Toph grabbed me with an rock glove while her legs peddled her towards a new defensive position in the middle of the stone flat space between the cave and the far-but-so-close docks. 

Wind-Surfing:

“We’re unable to hit anything, Your Majesty!” a Royal Guard yelled while he launched a SAR at a passing dart. “Wait and listen” and she grinned her crafty grin. “It’s just like Earth Rumble!” and she walked backwards a few feet. “Very good-” he formally said “Listen!” I slapped him. Toph grabbed my shoulder, tightly, and I knew to not move. She was using me as a grounding, a base point. _She's mad._

“Got it!” she practically blew my eardrums out. I looked at her face with a mixture of hope and worry that she was about to do something so stupid the word hasn’t been invented yet. I saw her face then followed it as it turned towards the left. A small metallic dart was flying over the dockyard from right-to-left. As I watched it, it tightly banked as if to turn around for another strafing attempt. “Just like Earth Rumble!” she yelled while eerily ‘watching’ it like us sighted people were. She released her grip, pressed me backwards and with one foot-stomp, was sent upwards on an earth pillar. She launched herself onto the underside of the jet. _ Yup. So stupid it hasn’t been invented yet. I’m calling it Pulling a Blind Bandit _. I could’ve sworn the whole world went silent to watch this moment of Toph being Toph. 

Anyone else, even the Avatar, would’ve fallen. Not her. For the whole split second I saw her directly above me, she gripped the metal underside and morphed it like fluid. Within a blink of an eye, she flipped the aircraft upside-down and was now right-side-up. She grabbed the metal like grabbing reins as the aircraft banked around and came in _ even lower _, maybe twenty feet above the ground. She stomped the aircraft and it turned into a flat disc. “What’s that metallic screaming sound?” Wuhan yelled out, having missed the escapade. 

Looking up at the now-passing Toph, she turned the jet into a thin flat, surfboard like object. “Her Imperial Majesty windsurfs on the corpses of her foes” I explained. As she passed, a trail of blood and guts fell out what was once the roof and landed in front of us, splattering all over. The man at the anti-aircraft post knelt. “Truly, she is a goddess”. Wuhan joined him and suddenly the soldiers around me were kowtowing. “She is a goddess.” they prayed. I was just standing there wondering if this was a dream or not. I pinched myself. _ Nope. That’s my Earth Queen. Our Earth Queen _.

The Freedom Fighters:

“Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Wuhan, but I see a ragged motley band of teenagers coming towards us with an orange-clothed guy at the lead.” Wuhan laughed, then opened his eyes and looked at the oncoming, what, six guys? “Guards!” I yelled and two Royal Guards got into stances at my side while Wuhan drew his dao. The lead man, indeed clothed in orange, pulled the straw out of his mouth and halted. “Bow before the Earth King, Freedom Fighters!” and he put his fist to the ground, bowing. The rest of them bowed. “Freedom Fighters?” Wuhan laughed. Somewhere above us or somewhere like that, Toph was screaming in happiness “My new favorite hobby!” 

The lead man introduced himself as “Jet, leader of the Freedom Fighters”. Oh good, we’ve got fire jets, the bending attack, Flame Jets or Flame Darts or Lil’ Azulas, the metallic things flying around above us, and we’ve got Jet, some straw-plucking teenager. 

“So you six guys-” the not-shortest one wearing white gloves and red battle paint yelled “I’m a girl!” _ That’s helpful, maybe you and Toph can go enjoy rolling in the mud together _ . “Forgive her, Your Majesty.” and I pointed at the archery guy, “I see you’ve copied my archery” and everyone but the archer laughed. He just looked back at me and opened his eyes further than before. “Does he not talk?” I asked. Jet shook his head. “He speaks with his eyes. That’s Longshot. The young woman, my second in command, is Smellerbee. Pipsqueak’s the man with the log for a club” he muttered a “hello”, “...and The Duke is his lifelong friend.” “Hi, Your Majesty, this is quite cool!” “...Sneers is the last one, he loves his reds-and-greens.” On cue from their... _ officer? _ , they bowed. “Great, what are you doing here?” I asked, still wondering why a random band of teenagers randomly showed up. “We’re here to offer our services in the art of guerilla warfare” he said with utmost sincerity. “Okay, go wait inside the aircraft warehouse. I’ll find you guys for a stealth mission later” and they cheered. Except Longshot. He just smiled with his eyes. What a weirdo. _  
_

Propeller versus Jet:

The Flame Darts kept flying around. Toph crashed hers into a mountainside, diving off the metal aircraft and making a slide for her to go down, putting her somewhere near the foot of the mountainside. Far above us, General Fong’s Fortress was shaking from an explosion. I looked up in time to see a large earth coin sent flying out of the ring and a jet to fly _ into _ it, grab it of sorts, and come crashing down into the sea ahead of us with a large splash.

People were still being dragged out of the water by soldiers who braved the occasional fire-strafe to grab their fellows. It seemed like the Darts were mostly focused on chasing monoplanes as they performed choreographed dances. Red earth coins clashed with Fire Navy emblems all over. I watched one biplane in particular. It was painted bright green with a proud gold Earth Kingdom emblem on it. A jet was right on its tail, spinning around it at times, but the biplane pilot must’ve been crazy or clever, because he pulled back on the yoke and went up. His aircraft shimmered beautifully in the sun rays, the Earth Kingdom’s emblem like a jewel. 

The jet behind him must’ve been arrogant because he gave chase with a snap-turn upwards. At first, the jet continued its rolling, spinning around the biplane, trying to find an opportunity to launch a fireball at it. The biplane kept going up, though. He wasn’t going straight up, he was slowly going west, but this was only visible because we were watching him from this distant angle. The jet tried launching a fireball at one point but the pilot snapped, flipping his aircraft on its side, dodging the projectile. The jet, unlike the pilot, wasn’t following his logic. The jet would fly beneath him, flipping upside down, then pull vertically to catch up to him. At one point, it was too much. 

The tiny flickering orange flame went out and the jet tumbled over on itself. As it fell towards the burning earth and fiery seas, the biplane flipped on its tail effortlessly and gave _ chase _ to the jet. The pilot might as well have been teasing him. Except he wasn’t. The jet kept tumbling and I was able to spot the biplane fire a metal dagger of sorts _ out the front _ . It penetrated the jet and _ exploded _. I wasn’t the only one who heard that explosion and looked that way. A large puff of smoke and the biplane emerged, rolling in celebration, while the cloud rained metal. He came back in for a landing at the warehouse, a large crowd of soldiers ran up to him, as did I. Everyone made way for me, bowing, and I walked up to the green-and-gold aircraft while it taxied to a stop in the warehouse. 

The Mechanist shouted. “Teo! You’re alright!” and ran up to the aircraft to give it a hug. I got there a few seconds later, the crowd was in my way, and indeed the biplane had a set of four wheels on the bottom. It was Teo. “Your Majesty” he said, out of breath. “What an honor” he continued, despite being out of breath. “No, you deserve the honor. Citizens of the Earth Kingdom, give him some honor!” and the crowd applauded. “Teo! Teo! Teo!” they yelled while I shook his hand. I wiped down his forehead with my Imperial Informal Robe, to which he gasped. “That’s...that’s priceless-” he panted. “As are you, now will someone please get this man a cloth, a whiskey, and some medals".

I wasn’t to be one-upped. “Wuhan, I’m getting in that aircraft” and I ran off for it. “Aren’t you wearing an Informal Robe?” he said, trying to use any other excuse to stop me. “The Earth Queen’s dressed like she’s going wrestling, the Avatar wears orange robes everywhere and Lady Katara’s pretty much wearing the same thing as me just more womanly” and I grabbed the goggles sitting in the pilot’s seat and fashioned them on. Only then did I notice how sweaty I was and how my queue would need lots of -thanks Ming- hairdressing later. I began walking around the aircraft giving it a checklist while I heard Wuhan _ sigh _in defeat. “There’s nothing I can do to stop Your Majesty, is there?” and I flashed my personal biplane a Toph grin. The Mechanist informed me that the biplane had two torpedos for my use and gave a quick rundown on using them. Come in low along the sea towards the ship, hit the big release button, then pull up before turning to toast. 

The aircraft was painted a turquoise blue and in place of the regular emblem had a fully open gold fan, just like the Imperial Sigil or the Kyoshi Warriors’ unofficial emblem. Also, it was _ shiny _, which is always a boost. 

The Mechanist was yelling a propaganda poster subtitle to the other pilots in the hanger, “the One-Eyed Badgermole’s flying, join him!” From what I could tell, the pilots immediately jumped in their biplanes and monoplanes. They were mostly armed with bombs. _And we're all crazy_.

Here’s the preflight checklist and ensuing startup I used because I know the Imperial Archivists never get to fly planes. Every step takes a few minutes to do. After finishing the Exterior section, I got in the aircraft. “Go find the Earth Queen and protect her, Captain!” I yelled to Wuhan. He bowed, clearly not wanting to do this, but he couldn’t go against my orders. Besides, she’s more valuable. 

_ Exterior: Dents? None. Corrosion? None visible. Dirt? Trace amounts of dust from warehouse. Propeller? Fastened correctly. Ailerons? Looks fine, feels fine. Flaps? Looks fine. Rudder? Looks fastened correctly. Engine? Was covered properly, no exterior damage. Final look? Seems fine. _

_ Interior: Functionality of the following: Flaps? Working as intended, meaning I could move it to either limit with no issues. Rudder? Also working as intended. Ailerons? They move up and down, what else can I ask for?  
_

_ Assisted Propeller start. Steering? Works to either extreme. Gyro? Tapped it a bunch, oriented properly. _

The Mechanist was yelling “Go, pilots, follow the One-Eyed Badgermole! Follow him into fire!” and the other propeller started up. Soldiers drew their blades and punched the air with them to salute me. I barely made out the guards yelling the new Imperial Army anthem between the engine and the Mechanist yelling “Go go go!” and firebenders guiding us with torch hands. An explosion shook the docks which only made things more chaotic. That and everyone was screaming “Ten Thousand Years!”

The Sally of the Air Corps:

Due to the whole “being in a warzone” I had to take off pretty quickly. The Mechanist’s figure was still clearly visible from inside the hanger, he was yelling and pointing my way. Biplanes were emerging and joining me in this taxi convoy. 

The moment the wheels got off the ground, I murmured “now I’m in the air with _ these _ things”. One of _ those things _ had an idea, and whizzed right over my head and dived towards the airfield, trying to bomb it. He missed and bombed the docks instead. Or maybe that’s what he intended. I don’t know. 

Finally with a bird’s eye view, I could overlook the harbor. Not only were the ships on fire, the _ sea _ was on fire. From what substance? Oil. Green ants, maybe they were green candles, bobbed like flotsam and coated the sea like lily pads. Looking back, my biplanes kept emerging. Looking to the sides, I couldn’t tell how many Flame Darts there were. Five? Ten? It felt like trying to count arrows during a volley. Unless I’m watching a specific arrow, I have no idea. Plus, why would I be counting arrows?

The pilots exchanged fireballs with the Flame Darts while I flew over the harbor. The Azure Docks looked like a large half-circle if the two tips of the half circle were pointing at each other. A few hundred feet up, I looked down and watched the flames billow as the majority of the Earth Navy burned. A few lucky junks had escaped and were sailing northwards. The dockyard, while not on fire, was covered in craters. 

I spotted a position right on the tip of the northern point of the half circle harbor. A couple green ants were launched earth discs in rapid succession at passing Flame Darts. Said Darts flew very close to the ground and _ unlike us, were individuals, not in groups _ . I hit the throttle to try and escape the pack of biplanes on my tail. The rest of the Mo Ce was as azure as the harbor. I didn’t have time to fawn over the color of the sea, because I spotted a Flame Dart rising to give chase. The rest of the biplanes? Somewhere far behind me. I didn’t register it at the time or care. _ It’s just like a duel _.

I looked down at the shimmering seas, then glanced back at him. He was trying to swerve to get a shot off. I grabbed the yoke and did a roll of my own. The pilot found it pretty funny because he did one, too. Looking back down at the sea, it hit me. I looked back at the wings of my biplane. Then the sea. _ My biplane...the sea...the same color _. 

Over the span of a few moments, we both dove towards the water. I glanced between my gyro and my opponent, pulled back when I noticed that I was beneath the mountain peaks and pulled up a few stories before hitting the water. The jet, still trying to outmaneuver me, dived past me -he was above me previously- and went right into the water. The small dart flipped over and over as it tumbled over the waves.

My opponent was gone. But where was I? To my right sat a mountain range, to my left the Mo Ce Sea. So I was going north. What good is a biplane with nothing to fight? Banking and turning, I pointed my nose back towards the billowing smoke plumes coating the coast to the south. _ The burning fleet _. But I wasn’t alone. A pack of dots were flying in a large ball off the coast of the burning ships. Dots were flying into and out of the bowl and small flashes signaled a tradeoff in fire. 

As I got closer, I spotted the two sides. Flame Darts entered and exited the ball while the biplanes stuck to a deadlier game of “chase the guy in front of you and don’t get caught by the guy behind you”. The Darts weren’t able to match them in turning radius and were forced to make a pass flying into a large mobile ball of biplanes and take a shot. While they had a dance in the sky, I opted for following one of the Flame Darts as it flew west towards _ smoke plumes on the horizon _. 

Probably bored of pretending to be owlcats, a couple aircraft peeled off the ball to follow me. It's also possible that seeing a bright blue aircraft flying across the sky is a distinct way of saying “Your insane leader is over here!” One by one, aircraft pulled out of the ball while I banked in a small circle to gather them. Like a flock of drunk wimpy birds escaping Kyoshi Island for the winter “because it's too cold”, a ragtag -and therefore much more inspiring for the history books- group of identical aircraft bearing identical markings with similar strains of insane man or woman flying them followed me west. 

The gaggle of what, thirty aircraft, became sets of four or five and sometimes three. The smoke plumes became ships. Cruisers. A dozen or so large ones and thrice as many smaller destroyers. When I pulled up to get a better overview of them, the rest of the Air Corps pulled back on their yokes to match my movements. As the ships are all metallic, it's hard to get a good painting of what was _ on _ them. At that moment, all I knew was that they didn’t have any trebuchets or ballistae. Just something metal. _ Metal, no _. I looked frantically to the aircraft on my left and stuck my hand out of the cockpit, pointing down and ahead at the ships. I was trying to yell “Metal tubes! Break off!” but I forgot that nobody could hear me. I banked right and the aircraft followed me. The squadron leader for a wing of five to my right was directly hit with a fireball. 

I twisted and turned and dived back towards the waters. As we are still fast moving objects, fireballs aren’t always going to be direct hits. Doesn’t make them any less terrifying. Once I reached a safe, _ side note: not actually safe _, distance away, I put this biplane’s agility to the test and spun on a coin. The previously probably organized Flying Fleet was in tatters despite only losing one or two aircraft. Each squadron head decided to go their own way, not a smart move during a naval battle. Also not a smart move considering all the traffic flying around. At least my squadron and two others stuck to following me. 

I was so close to the water I smelled the salt air. _ Unhooking metal cover for left torpedo button. Metal cover has swung open. Metal cover didn't like being here so it snapped off and fell into my lap. _I stuck my hand out to the left and pointed down -trying to point at my torpedo- then ahead -at the cruisers- and the long ponytail of the pilot to my left nodded. As if crossing one of Katara’s “let’s make a mandate” imaginary lines, the cruisers -pointing at us head on- opened fire. The topside of each ship flashed bright orange, then the orange became a rapidly approaching bolt of fire. 

A long, wide group of targets flying right towards a set of firebenders on stationary positions. What did any of us expect? I couldn’t afford to look left or right as I was just above the water but I can imagine we were like flying turkey ducks during an early morning bow hunt. They were launching these super-charged fire bolts from the metal tubes in the place of where the trebuchets used to be. Instead of one trebuchet, they had three metal tubes. Three fire bolts. Every couple seconds. If the other biplanes were smart, they’d _ not _ copy the turkey ducks and fly in a massive group. I hit the small red button and pulled back on the stick. Twisting to the side a small bit, I looked down and watched a small object leaving a white wake as it went towards one of the cruisers. _Agni, don't miss._ I twisted and turned to avoid more fire-bolts as I reached a high altitude. Only then did it hit me that the aircraft I was flying with were armed with bombs. _ That’s why they can’t do anything _ . _ That, or they’re terrible at listening to orders _ . My subconscious thoughts were replaced with awe as one of the cruisers _ erupted _ in a large water plume followed by the sound of an explosion. 

They didn’t let up. We took to a staggered formation as more aircraft were picked off. Other squadrons were happy to act as tigerdillo feed for us. Bolts whizzed past us, one almost took off my tail. _Well if we're inexperienced with this, they're probably inexperienced with those tubes_. Looking down, we were coming up on the task force. The ship I made go boom was in two pieces and leaking oil into the seas. I pitched forwards to act as a guide, and like a guide, others followed suit. The fire bolts didn’t come. They kept firing, sure, but it appeared as if they couldn’t fire at targets directly above them. Someone bright must’ve recognized this, because they started punching regular fireballs at us instead. These fireballs were scary and completely useless. They dissipated long before reaching us. The aircraft to my left were in the process of dropping bombs. After each one would drop its payload, it would pull up and break off from the squadron. _ Other metal dome, unhooked. Torpedo button, ready for pressing _. Was I going to fire a torpedo while diving towards a ship? Yes. Yes I was. Because he never said I couldn't launch it like a bomb. And I did. Because what good is a large explosive if its not being used for something. 

Sadly out of sync but just as effective, some of the bombs found their targets. From up here, the Fire Navy was a series of ear-piercing cries of metal as ships were ripped with holes. I went back towards the water and flew back towards the Docks. A couple Darts flew over, one at a time, but ignored me as the sea is a perfect cover. Were any Darts left in the skies above the Docks? I didn’t know. 

The Azure Docks were still on fire. Smoke had blocked the mountain peaks and stretched northwards forming a long grey line. I couldn’t land at what I couldn’t see, so I circled over the defensive position General How was using, left and headed north along the coast. I was kept beneath shadows as I passed over the coastal plain. I spotted farmers looking up at the smoke trail and looking towards the Docks. I had just outpaced the smoke trail when I found a place to land. A military depot located along a train line. It had a central two-story stone building surrounded by low barracks and stone walls. A monorail line was located adjacent to it and between it and the sharp ascents of the mountain range a few miles further inland. I circled over it, someone in there had some brains because a horn sounded and a couple green ants ran out of the central building. They went outside and began paving some land for me to use.

I flew south, maintaining visual contact with them, before turning back around and coming in for a landing. The base, more like an outpost, is located in the middle of a large coastal meadow with a few rolling sand dunes. By the time I had returned, a long strip of seemingly flat, hopefully crack-less stone was ready for use. Didn't have much of a choice. I went with it anyways. I landed, this time the wheels weren’t taken out from under me, and taxied to a halt using the meadow. The soldiers stepped back with shock upon seeing my eyepatch. One of them, dressed like an officer, walked up to me and went “Your Majesty, we’re honored to have you in our-” but I hopped out of the biplane and grabbed him by the collar. “Stop, talking. I need a drink. Water.” and released him. “You heard His Imperial Majesty, go get him some water!” the short officer barked to the nearest soldier standing at attention. The young woman turned around and ran over to the outpost. I eventually got my water flask then took someone’s bed in the name of the Earth Kingdom and went to sleep. 

The following is transcribed from the Campaign Journal of Imperial Commander, Admiral of the Colonial Navy, Jee. From his entry titled “First Maritime Campaign of the First Colonial Navy: Overview of Engagement: Azure Docks”. 

I had woken up at sunrise and was in the process of daily morning meditation within the Captain’s Quarters of the _ Kyoshijima _ when a set of hastened footsteps stirred my conscious. _ What’s the matter? Quartermaster Nakamura gave you three-quarter portions as opposed to four-fifths and now you’re angry? _ I wasn’t in the mood for it. The footsteps got closer. _ An assassin? Pirates? _ A clarion sounded from one of the cruisers. I jumped out of my kneeling position before a Shrine to Agni, adjusted my Captain’s Informal Wear to look as professional as possible, and ran to the door. The footsteps halted and became knocking. Pounding on the metal door. “Admiral, we’re under attack!” I was still numb, hadn’t had breakfast yet. I unlocked the door and the woman handed me a scroll bearing the Interim General of the Flying Fleet’s personal seal. 

_ Azure Docks. Dart-shaped fast bombers. IEN burning. Many dead. Fan missing _. 

I had to reread the message multiple times. Then I shoved the woman into the wall, by accident, and ran for the bridge, just down the hall. Helmsman Kyo didn't avert his gaze from the helm. Good man. “Orders?” he asked while I ran around the control room looking for the speaking system. The pipe to speak into. One of the guards pointed at it for me and I grabbed it. “Battle Stations! Not a drill! Battle Stations!” and the tsungi horns sounded, _ that’s why we clean our instruments _, echoing off the well-made shiny metal. 

The following is some information I later learned:

During the pre-dawn twilight, approximately twenty five Royal Fire Navy Type I Strike Bombers, codenamed “Flame Darts”, departed a recently built airfield on Crescent Island. The Flame Dart was based on a previous IEA sailplane design. As opposed to the wide wings of the training gliders, it opted for a swept-back triangular shaped design. This grants it a much higher top speed compared to our IEAC/IFF Type Two Biplane models. For propulsion, it relies on a second person, a talented firebender, to launch a condensed stream of fire which will then drive the aircraft onwards. The act of shooting a fire jet earned this model of aircraft the moniker of “Jet Strike Bomber” as opposed to our propeller based designs. The cockpit is concealed beneath a glass canopy to help with aerodynamics. As for armament, one single bomb beneath the fuselage plus the option for the pilot to launch fireballs through the open bomb bay doors. Now back to the events.

Naval IEAC/IFF Officer Yoriko arrived shortly afterwards, along with Commander Hirohisa of the cruiser _Hakodate_, Commander Isoshi of the cruiser _Sakata_, Commander Seibei of the cruiser _Tsuyama_ and Commander Tokuma of the cruiser _Beppu. _Many other commanders who I don’t know on a named basis, at least I didn’t remember them from the old Southern Fleet Captain's Club, also joined. A map of this nautical region -the Straits of Roku- was opened up and scrolls from the Azure Docks were read out while figures were set up. 

“Our latest information says anywhere between ten and fifty, codenamed Flame Darts, are assaulting the base” the humble messenger read out. “Any news on the size of the enemy fleet?” asked Isoshi. The messenger shook her head while we stared her down awaiting any drops of anything “No sorties have succeeded yet”. We were amazed at both the ineptitude of the intelligence services and “how could we be caught like this?” We went on to discuss battle plans. 

The four mentioned cruisers would form a spearpoint formation as we sail towards the Docks. I was going to hold our aircraft back until we could launch an assault on their fleet. Our naval artillery could punch a hole through anything. The _ Kyoshijima _would remain surrounded by her escort fleet of cruisers and a further ring of destroyers. We were going to sail towards the Azure Docks, regroup with the IEN, and sail west to crush the RFN before they could strike us. 

A few minutes after adopting a half-turtle shell formation, the majority of the ships off my starboard for quick deployment, we came face-to-face with a long thick grey smoke plume. The navigator, the oh so wise man, informed me that “the smoke plume appears to be coming from the Azure Docks”. _ Yes, where else would it be coming from? _ Our plan didn’t take into account the bombing capabilities of Flame Darts. Or their maneuverability. 

One had spotted us not long after the original sunrise meeting. It circled around the tower of the cruiser _ Hakodate _ , avoiding all anti-air fire, then flew back towards the horizon to our northeast. I was standing next to the North double doorway for the runway when a second returned. I hit it with a two fireballs, but it appeared to ignore it. _ Maybe I can scald them _. The jet thankfully didn’t think to open fire on the parked biplanes. It turned into a dot for the better part of a minute. One of the anti-airwomen suggested I go for cover, I told her “if we get blown up, I’d rather get blown up trying to hit it” which made them cheer. The dart returned and flew along the deck of the ship. Was he trying to get an idea of its length? Did he want to bomb it? I have no idea. Nobody ever will. The bow anti-aircraft artillery installation had lined the dart up, it went bang and plugged the dart with a stone shell. Even if it didn’t, the pilot must’ve been turned to red broth because the little vehicle seemed to stop midair and flew into the sea to our portside. 

I had deployed one aircraft, Corporal Rong of Third Squadron, Dai Li Rong not ex-Raiders Rong, to go ahead and scout the Docks preceding our arrival. Up until his return, I had dispatched orders to the task force under the assumption this was a naval siege. The main battle line was to blockade the port, pinning any Naval Infantry detachments on land while holding steadfast against the Fire Navy’s consecutive waves. If this was anything like the tried and true Garsai Method, the Fire Navy would launch its naval artillery in a day-long bombardment of strategic positions before landing the following night. It worked in the North up until the unknown variable of the Avatar showing up.

He returned a few minutes later. “It’s impossible to see anything through the thick smoke”. What he failed to mention was that he caught the attention of the Fire Navy, or one of their scout ships. I was looking over the nautical map up on the bridge when the Helmsman of all people yelled “Admiral, horizon, south-by-southwest” and I grabbed the telescope. Sure enough, five metal silhouettes were coming towards us. The soldiers sitting at the anti-aircraft positions were already tired enough. The past couple hours had us on high alert waiting for something to happen. 

The _ Kyoshijima _ was hugging the coastline while the rest of the fleet looked like a large semi-circle around her. I ordered the aircraft scrambled and a stone platform at the back of the ship was raised, elevating an aircraft with it. Each of our biplanes had bombs and, assuming the officers were _ competent _ , they might actually get something done. In quick succession, the other ten aircraft raised up, were assist-started, and committed short-strip takeoffs before circling the _ Kyoshijima _ and becoming a large flock of duck-gulls. 

The Fire Navy ships began opening fire on us. Instead of the old, effective trebuchets, they were shooting fire bolts. Fire bolts that did nothing to large metal ships. As they approached, they turned and tried to broadside us like we were Southern Water Tribe Pirates in our cutters. We weren’t. Grabbing the speaking system again, I yelled “_ Beppu, Sakata _ , return fire!” and the two pulled the covers off their artillery pieces. Each battle-line cruiser was equipped with twin -independently moving- Naval Artillery pieces on the front alongside a near-limitless number of fortified earth discs and associated firing positions. I watched the crewmen of the _ Beppu _ operating the breech-loaders, insert explosive shells, close the loader and get into stance. Two bangs in quick succession, and the breech was open again. 

The lead Fire Navy ship took one of the shells to the center. Just beneath the main tower. There was an explosion and the ship listed starboard. The lead tower snapped off and the ship soon followed it into the Mo Ce. As for the other ships, our cruisers had put holes in all but two. I then ordered “cease fire” as I didn’t want to waste our ammunition on these scouts. Our biplane bombers circled the two non-listing or sunk ones and dive-bombed them. Before the biplanes could return, I heard that _ distinctive _ screech of a dragon. Also off to the starboard, Druk was coming in along the water. He reached the fleet and ascended to fly over the cruisers. Soldiers raised their hands in prayer. He landed on my runway and riding him, Prince Iroh. Only at this point did I realize I was completely disheveled, dressed in a night-robe, my beard wasn’t combed and my hair was probably still tousled from sleep. 

Prince Iroh had done his own scouting and verified that Crescent Island hosts a large fleet of ships moored right off the coast. As for the nature of the ships? Regular cruisers, only a couple visible, light cruisers, two dozen or so. Prince Iroh believes Admiral Chan to have committed his full alloted force. Complimenting battleships and cruisers was a large assortment of fishing vessels. Did they have a purpose? We don’t know. Where were the Flame Darts launched from? An airbase on the island. Prince Iroh joked that “this should be easy” but at that moment had yet to learn of the sinking of most of the Earth Navy.

HIM Entry LVIII, continued:

The debriefing was quite long.

As General Song’s procession came south, he stopped off at the outpost I was residing in. I joined him and together we took a branch line to Fong’s Fortress high atop the mountain range. The Mechanist and How were already at the base. When Toph finished wind-surfing, she joined us up there as well. Iroh was assisting in dissipating the smoke, Jee was guarding the docks. Akin to my journal entry on Rulership, I’m skipping most of the regular “and they bowed”. All that needs to be recorded is that we joined Fong in his main hall, a massive Earth Kingdom flag sat behind him and his War Table. 

With Toph in Fong’s regular seat, each General and anyone of high rank, like the Grand Secretariat, submitted their ‘review’ of the events from their perspective. After reading through the third “and we were taken by surprise, but if General whoever’s men were doing their job...”, I ripped the papers up, causing General Fong to whimper in fear. As the second-highest ranked person I had the authority to stop this. This whole “it’s his fault” mindset was exactly _ why _ we lost. Where was our intelligence? Where _ was _ it? General Song, older than the rest of the room combined save Iroh, came forward to present an overview of where we went wrong and what happened.

It starts with the largest failure of all. The widespread news of our mustering at Fong’s Fortress. Simultaneously, the lack of information coming from the Fire Nation. We were told all kinds of numbers about the size of their fleet and its capabilities. We were never informed of the existence, let alone the abilities of these jet aircraft. As for who is responsible, Toph will find out, even if she has to interview every last one of our forty or fifty million citizens.

A Fire Navy cruiser had sunk during the engagement off-shore, but the bridge remained above water as the ship parked itself on a sandbar. The Captain must’ve forgotten to burn his room, that or he was killed during the sinking. Sailors, by means of rowboat and hook, climbed aboard. They scavenged the Captain’s Quarters and found a copy of an annotated map of Azure Docks, an up to date map, with a list of targets on the side. Piers jutted out into the middle of dockyard with different marking for each one. To each target was explained the danger potential of them. 

The main objective of the strike wasn’t to take out the Imperial Earth Navy of the West. As we learned, a large wooden fleet, seriously where was the advice against a fleet of wooden junks, is quite burnable. No, the strike was meant for the _ Kyoshijima _. Our aircraft carrier gives us a wide, mobile, strike platform. As we possess it and the Fire Nation doesn’t and never will, they wanted it destroyed. A fleet of fast striking aircraft can kill a fleet from beyond the horizon. One secondary target was the Colonial Navy’s cruiser force. These ships were equals to the Fire Navy’s and thus posed a threat to them. In addition, the Air Corps was deemed a major threat. The Imperial Siege Cannon was marked down as a secondary target, but was ferried into an artificial cave during the Assault. Tertiary objectives included the Imperial Earth Navy’s fleet of junks, Fong’s Fortress and the Imperial Armored Corps of all things. 

As for today’s events, the Flame Darts arrived and immediately noticed that the Colonial Navy wasn’t docked. As they were already spotted, or they must’ve assumed as such, they engaged what they could. The oil leak has yet been unexplained. It could’ve been all the oil lanterns being knocked down and flung into the water, the oil contents of various sinking junks, or the possibility of one or two of the Flame Darts carpeting the water with shattering oil bombs. 

Had they waited a single day more, the Colonial Navy would’ve arrived at the dock and we wouldn’t even have a navy with which to launch a strike. Amidst Toph’s toe picking, her feet got really dirty today, we discussed a motive for such a hastened strike. I believe it was because Bujing wanted results to cement his legitimacy. Song and others think its because Chan wanted to earn glory.

We concluded that the strike was a failure. Thousands upon thousands of our men and women are dead. Hundreds of junks are destroyed. But only thousands died, not hundreds of thousands. Only one of our fleets, not all of them. As they attacked in the early morning, they only caught the sailors sleeping onboard the ships. They didn’t catch the aircraft carrier. They put a dent in our Air Corps, but they didn’t kill The Mechanist or his aides. Their fire-bolts have no effect on metal warships. Our Siege Cannon would’ve been loaded onto the Colonial ships and they could’ve gotten a two-for-one. Our Armored Corps was still in depots buried beneath Fong’s Fortress. 

We may be arrogant but the Fire Navy is reckless. From scout reports, courtesy of Grandmaster Iroh aboard Druk, this strike force was all Chan had. The rest of his fleet is a handful of cruisers, light destroyers and a fleet of civilian fishing ships. We held a War Meeting, and by held I mean I declared this meeting of Generals a War Meeting, and concluded that the Fire Nation was probably trying the old tradition of empires: Shogun Bujing likely knows he’s ruling a rump kingdom -the true ruler of the Fire Nation should be Fire Lord Azula or Fire Lord Zuko- and that the Earth Kingdom _ will _ win. We could fight this war for another hundred years if we wanted to but I don’t want to have to deal with the Avatar’s whining about peaceful negotiations and Toph wants Caldera as a birthday present. Most importantly, nations don't just die when you kill their leader. If we give them enough time, they _will _muster another force.

As the Shogun knows he has lost, he doesn’t want to simply abdicate. He wants to burn the Fire Nation with him. This wouldn’t be the first time in oral history that a Ruler of the Fire Islands has done this. Legend says the last great Sun Warrior Chief, so named “Setting Sun”, his actual name was Yotahala Oshweda, erupted the volcanoes on the main island, destroying his ancestral homeland, all to oppose letting the ancestors of the Fire Nationals settle on it. He died in the eruptions, but, so did most of the Colonists. 

In committing the fishing fleet, the Shogun knows that there’s going to be nothing for Fire Lord Zuko to rule over when he eventually takes the throne. Just an angry population desiring vengeance against us and Fire Lord Zuko. Now, unlike the Avatar, Toph “doesn’t really care” if he kills his own Nation’s fleet. She has instructed that “as we are the sovereigns of the Earth Kingdom, not the Fire Nation, it is Prince Zuko’s responsibility to take care of his Nation”. 

“I’m not going to let him do that” Prince Zuko declared. The new War Plan features Prince Iroh and Zuko traveling island to island, rallying the population in support of their Fire Lord, Zuko. The Colonial Navy and whatever remains of the IEN will smash Chan at Crescent Island before marching on Caldera itself. This surprise attack hastened their downfall, not ours. We can afford to send ten thousand waves of men against the Fire Nation’s defenses. We can afford to lose a hundred thousand and that'd barely put a dent in our army.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole battle is based on Pearl Harbor. In both, the aircraft carriers were the main targets. Except one strike happened at the beginning of a war, "waking the sleeping giant" and one is happening in the waning hours of the war. The Fire Navy's strike, tossing everything they have, is partially inspired by late-war Japan tossing whatever remained of its fleet and pilots at the oncoming US Pacific Fleet. Except I chose not to use kamikazes because the Fire Nation has technology. They haven't gotten to that point...yet. Also, the Fire Nation is torn between Zuko and Bujing. 
> 
> Moral is, don't overestimate your opponents. Especially ones known for technological prowess. 
> 
> Next time, a fight in the Straits of Roku!


	59. Racing West

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second skirmish in the Mo Ce. Less whirlpools, more explosions.

HIM Entry LIX:

I write this from the Imperial Quarters of the IEN Kyoshijima. A year ago, if you told me that the Earth Kingdom would build -or repurpose- a ship that carries heavier-than-air vehicles, manned by earthbenders, firebenders and metalbenders, and run by a ex-Fire Navy Admiral, I’d have laughed. And yet, here we are. This is a summary of the last few days at sea.

Dispatching the Fleet:

We still don’t know how many men and women died at the Azure Docks. General Song arrived with the mobile units of his Army. It was determined that the Imperial Army should stay ashore until the Fire Navy was dealt with. Even once the fleet is destroyed, we still wouldn’t have enough ships -in this part of the world- to ferry the entire Imperial Army. We had to make choices. We will be transporting some hundred tanks for the Armored Corps, twice as many vehicles for the Artillery Corps, along with the Imperial Siege Cannon. Whatever remaining space exists, any volunteer units of the Imperial Army will join us. 

I dismissed myself from the War Meeting and fell asleep in the Imperial Carriage. I probably missed the part of the Meeting about troop censuses, but that’s not my job. Next morning, Wuhan, with an edict from Toph, stormed into the Imperial Bedroom and pulled Toph’s footrest out from under her. 

“By order of Her Imperial Majesty, Your Majesty’s presence is requested aboard the Kyoshijima” he said with his formal I’m-a-good-soldier-just-following-orders-here voice. “Oh is it? Can I put on pants this time instead of going to war in a night robe?” He audibly gulped and called for “Guards, get the Imperial Consort his Imperial Armor!” I reached over and grabbed Toph to query her. “Earth Queen, why am I being sent to sit on a ship? I’m not an Admiral. Also aren’t you angry your footrest is leaving?” but she softly pushed me into the wall courtesy of an earth pillar. “And I’m useless on a ship. I’m going back to sleep” And she snored. “Guards, drag Kyoshi into his Armor and shove him in the vicinity of something with a propeller.” And my -well our, the Kyoshi Warriors were sleeping somewhere else- dragged me out of my bedroom. “But Toph, these ships are made of metal! You can bend on them!” 

And she jumped out of bed and boomed orders at us. “Guards, drop Kyoshi! Kyoshi! My hair! Now!” Like that, their grip was gone and now, still in a night robe, I had the job of fashioning her hair into her usual bun. She’s quite capable of doing it herself, but I think her urge to boss others around outweighs her desire to do things on her own. Sometimes. Like at that moment. Wuhan metalbent my Imperial Armor on, save the helmet, while I practiced hairbending. It's not as enjoyable as earthbending. When all was said and done, Toph was dressed in her wrestler outfit, me in my Imperial Armor, her wearing a metal bracelet that doubles as a handy blade, me with my ornate jian scabbard and jian.

Once we got outside, it was still dark out, Toph made herself an earth wave and took off. “Your Majesty, would you like to walk?” Wuhan said, as if being the only nonbender in this set of people wasn’t embarrassing enough, I had to ask to be carried. By the time we got to the docked Kyoshijima, Toph had already ran up the stone staircase. It also helped that horns were sounding and men were yelling “get to attention, the Queen’s come aboard!” from inside the caverns of this all-encompassing ship. I climbed up the staircase, then traversed a plank -thankfully with railings- before we clanked our feet in the echoey hallways. 

I say we because I was wearing leather boots, not metal ones. But everyone else was. Retractable metal boots that allow for use of bare feet. Armorers were inspired by Toph’s lack of shoes to invent retractable metallic boots. That way, metalbenders can have the armor for protection, then when on contact with earth or metal surfaces, can use their bare feet. They loved being barefoot but hated giving up foot protection. Works for everyone that’s a metalbender. I’m still stuck with leather boots because I’d rather have agility than protection. The Imperial Armor provides a heavy set of greaves that do their job quite well. 

Thankfully for the Fire Nation engineers that designed this ship’s predecessor, they included signs that point towards the Bridge. Following them, I eventually climbed up a long staircase with an endless trail of clinks and clanks following me. I walked through the doorway to find the Earth Queen face-to-chest with Admiral Jee and in the middle of a heated discussion on “let’s go crush them already” from Toph and “last time we impulsively charged-”. A young man slid past me and ran over to the ship’s wheel. It took him ten steps to realize who he slid past, and he spun around and bowed “Forgive me, Your Majesty” which got Toph and Jee to cease debating and turn to me. Jee brought his hands up to bow while Toph pulled a Katara pose of hands-on-hips annoyance. 

“Good morning Your-” “Kyoshi! get to leading this fleet”. I bowed to her while guards filled the room. “As the new acting-head of this fleet, I appoint Jee to go run the fleet as he’s an admiral”. Toph got quite frustrated at this, walked over to me, grabbed me by the back of the Armor and pulled me out of the room. Literally knocking me down a peg, she whispered into my ear “Kyoshi, I never thought you were so blind”. Still confused, I didn’t respond. “Go run the fleet and make sure it doesn’t get sunk” and she shoved me back into the room. Oh. That makes some sense.

Admiral Jee bowed to me, “what is your first order, Your Majesty?” he asked while eyeing the young woman to whom I was vastly overshadowing. I got to thinking like Sokka, not too much or it might turn into a disaster. “Is there a way to communicate with other ships or do we have to yell?” and the young clean shaven man from earlier pointed at a metal tube. “Helmsman Kyo is a reliable helmsman and unreliable at literally anything else. But he’s good with pointing” Jee commented with the air of Trust-me-this-man-is-too-good-to-get-killed-and-too-terrible-to-be-promoted.

I grabbed the tube and spoke, same voice I was using earlier, into it. “Attention all ships, this is His Imperial Majesty, let’s...get sailing?”. Admiral Jee and his two-pointed beard of disapproval tapped me on the shoulder. “Your Majesty, can I give the speaking commands while you give the command commands?” and I looked at Toph, who was facing the door, for confirmation. Faceslap. “Earth Queen, do you approve?” and she nodded. “Sure, I like the feel of this ship so I’m off to wander it” and she departed. 

He announced for the Kyoshijima to set off while I asked the Helmsman about the system. “There’s miles of pipes across this ship. It echoes through those and...I’m just the guy who turns this thing.” I pulled back to let the guy at the ship’s wheel do his thing while overlooking a large nautical map placed down in the middle of the room. On it sat a bunch of ship figures, some green some red. Jee called out “Your Majesty, find something to sit down on” and Kyo gestured to a seat. Tsungi horns sounded and everything rocked around. Somewhere downstairs, I heard the faintest of Toph yells. “That engine’s quite sweet!” 

Looking at this well-drawn map reminded me of Sokka and his planning. “Admiral, where’s Sokka?” and then I realized he probably had no idea who I was referring to. “The young Water Tribesman? I don’t know. I don’t recall meeting him and at the War Meeting yesterday, he was listed as missing. I guess he vanished?” That’s great. Can the Water Tribesmen please stop vanishing? 

Jee and I discussed planning over pre-sunrise tea. A dozen middle-aged men and women, dressed like Fire Navy officers, were also in the room. They were the Commanders of other ships. Our cruisers outrange their ships and we have more of them. Our biplanes can strike them but their Flame Darts can also strike us. We came up with the following plan. 

We lack a sizeable fleet of fast ships needed for a flanking maneuver. Instead, our light cruisers will screen the main battle line. They will form a staggered skirmish line, engaging their main line while also trying to bait out the remaining Flame Darts. The main battle line of cruisers will remain in a circle formation protecting the Kyoshijima. Once we’ve made contact with their battle-line, our battle-line cruisers will form a flying wedge. The light fast ships will take to the wings, ready to smash their civilian fleet while our main battle-line mops up their main battle-line.

As for Crescent Island, we have multiple options, depending on the outcome. If their fleet flees west, we could capture the airfield. If Chan stands and fights, we can bombard the island with naval artillery. The island is one large mountain peak with an active volcano. The airbase is on one of the tips of the island’s eponymous crescent, where the land is flat enough to launch aircraft. 

I gave the plan the Imperial Seal, thanks Wuhan, and the orders were dispatched to the fleet. Now, all we have to do is wait. I went back to the Imperial Quarters and recorded all these events.

Battle for Crescent Island:

The light cruisers received their orders and sped off ahead of us. I ran down to the runway to watch the sun emerge from behind the far sharp peaks around Fong’s Fortress. Surrounding this floating piece of metal was the Colonial Navy. Cruisers bearing twin artillery pieces mounted where the trebuchets would be, flying the flags of the Colonial Navy beneath the flags of the Earth Kingdom. While Toph ran around the bowels of the ship like a child, Jee joined me for breakfast. Roast duck and rice was the food of choice. Only in the Fire Nation, or rather, by Fire Nation designers, would they install a table adjacent to an active runway with built in spaces for holding tea cups alongside four chairs that slide backwards and forwards on rails. 

Speaking of Iroh, I heard his dragon screech and got out of my seat to watch Druk appear in front of the sun, flapping his wings, before coming in to land on the runway. Everyone save myself and the two guards at my side brought up their hands to bow to the mythical creature with the flaming breath. Iroh and Zuko were riding atop it. Iroh in his White Lotus armor, Zuko in his regular garb.

“Prince Iroh, welcome aboard the Kyoshijima” Jee said while bowing general-to-royalty, a bow that isn’t as steep as average soldiers. “Your Majesty, an honor, and Admiral Jee” he said, quite happy. “May I disembark and join you two for tea?” Jee nodded. Druk lowered himself, allowing Iroh to climb off the saddle and slide off Druk. “Nephew, care to join?” he asked in a lighthearted tone. Zuko’s regular scowl and grittier tone was as much a contrast to Iroh as my blue armor a contrast to the red of Jee. “Don’t we have an island to capture?” Zuko interjected. Iroh laughed. “Of course we do” and he turned to me “but, His Imperial Majesty is drinking tea, as such, it is an honor to share tea with the Earth King”. And I put down my tea cup. “Now I’m not drinking tea, you can leave”. Iroh gave me his disappointed look, and I picked up my tea cup and sipped from it again. I’m certain he’d never shoot me with a fireball for not drinking tea, but disappointed Iroh is terrifying. Legends say he has the body of a thirty year old bodybuilder. He was able to stomach bump Azula. He's unkillable. “Gulp, I am gulping” I made sure to mutter for effect. “See, nephew, the Earth King agrees. There’s never a moment that can’t double as tea time” and he sat down on the third chair and slid himself forward. 

We got to drinking tea and discussing war. Jee brought up the battle plan to Iroh, who nodded along to most of it, Zuko meditated on the other side of Druk -the two of them parked on the runway- and I sipped my tea. One plus to being with firebenders, Iroh was happy to heat up the tea pot. The cold sea winds -cold to everyone else- were freezing the sailors as they walked about. 

Iroh clarified that “Prince Zuko and I will take Druk and fly island-to-island, securing his legitimacy as Fire Lord.” We believe that the population will be much more receptive of a member of the Line of Sozin who also ended this “bloodbath” as opposed to a “Shogun who would erupt the dormant volcanoes himself if he could”. Druk screeched, Iroh instinctively got out of his seat and grabbed one of the dragon’s massive teeth. I don’t know why, but these members of royalty are able to have conversations with this dragon. “What’s the matter?” Iroh said while petting his golden mane. “Uncle, out there!” oh how descriptive. Then the horns sounded. 

What Zuko was pointing at was the flashes of light from ahead of us. Jee’s eyes went wide and he jumped out of his seat. He ran off into the superstructure while yelling “Battle Stations, someone scramble the-” but was cut off by disappearing into the tower. “So, Iroh, I guess you’re going to-” I said while turning around. Then I got hit in the face with a gust of wind. “-fly…” I looked past the hovering dragon and was eye-to-eye with Zuko. “Hello, Your Majesty, I’m still here.” he waved, and he casually walked through the wind-gusts over to my side. 

Druk took to the skies and charged the Flame Darts. There were only a couple of them, maybe five or six. Now, the Earth Kingdom might go “let’s charge the dragon”, but the Fire Nation’s not that intoxicated. Each jet pulled back and flew vertically in a different direction. If this wasn’t the middle of a warzone, the near-choreographed performance would look pretty great. Except for the part where the jets criss-cross in a game of “please eat that guy”. Druk was having none of it. 

“I’m not much of a tea-drinker, myself” he said while standing up, clutching a tea cup in one hand. “I think it’s just hot leaf juice. I like whiskey much more” I stated. I grabbed the tea cup that wasn’t smashed on the floor and poured myself some more from the pitcher. “You do realize we’re in the middle of-” but he cut me off with his nodding. “Yes, I know that. So? Uncle took my dragon, Uncle can handle it”. Your dragon? Wasn’t it Iroh’s? Then Azula’s? Then Iroh’s again? At what point were you claimant to the dragon? Wait a second, we’re in the middle of a battle. Back to Iroh. 

One of the jets was punching fireballs at Druk’s figure, Iroh dissipated the strike with his hands while Druk visibly shook it off. This one jet pulled up, but must’ve forgotten -or rather, never learned- one of Teo’s first lessons in flight: Dragons are the lords of the skies. Druk didn’t halt, no, he turned his head up, flapped, and while the jet was climbing vertically, he cut him off with a diagonal. Druk breathed fire onto the jet as he bit into it. When Druk spat the jet out, it was a flaming metal sheet tumbling towards the seas. Druk did a loop for good measure, before Iroh locked sights on another jet and crossed the skies south to north. The crewmen cheered. “See, Iroh can handle-” but we were interrupted by an explosion. Oh yeah, the rest of the Flame Darts.

As the jets skimmed the top of the ship, earth discs were sent flying in all directions. Firebenders launched condensed shots through metal tubes at the front of the ship. They also had no effect. Zuko even punched his own fire blasts at the jets, but they did nothing to the metallic casing. 

I ran over to the bow, Zuko came too because I guess he’s bored?, descended a single flight of stairs and came upon a anti-air defensive position. The soldiers noticed who I was and halted their firing to bow. “Just resume it” and I watched the team of four at work while leaning on a railing. Two earthbenders pulling up earth discs to launch them, a firebender shooting through the metal tube and a metalbender rotating the platform and adjusting for height. Each one wore the garb of Earth Kingdom sailors, with different colored pins affixed to the left chest of the tunic. A green earth coin -much larger than the currency piece- for earthbenders, a red earth coin for the firebender, a silver earth coin for the metalbender and a copper one for the nonbenders I saw running around earlier. 

In front of us, that is, a stone’s throw from us, sat the rear of one of our cruisers. A earthbender shooting a stone shell out of the sole metal tube -the artillery piece tubes are much larger than the anti-aircraft ones- landed a direct hit on one of the Flame Darts. It wasn’t explosive, but it spun out of control and collided with the sea just off our side, sending seawater up to smack us all in the face. As the ship was blocking us, save on the side, when I walked -not ran- over to the starboard side of the ship, I could just make out explosions off in the distance. So what did I do? I walked back upstairs to the runway and looked out.

Standing back from the edge of the runway, I watched the cruisers on either side begin forming a single file line in width. Some nonbender came running over to me and yelled “Your Majesty, Admiral Jee wants you”. So I ran back to the tower, then climbed up this flight of stairs. The nonbender was great at guiding me. Clang, clang, clang and so on. Zuko must’ve gotten bored giving chase, as he stuck to remaining in the anti-aircraft battery at the bow of the ship. 

“Yes...Admiral?” I said, almost collapsing from being out of breath. “I wanted to summon Your Majesty to ask your thoughts on boarding” I held up my hand and sat down to collect my breaths and my thoughts. How nice of you. “Yes?” “As Your Majesty can tell, I did not order the ships to open fire. I believe it would be more valuable to capture the Fire Navy’s cruisers as opposed to destroying them. They can be valuable assets to the Imperial Navy. As such, I would like to ask your opinion.” I scratched my chin. “Am I allowed to think on that?” I said in a much louder -if accidental- voice. The metal behind us creaked. The guards got into stances. Ripping a hole through the ground and walking up the walls emerged a oil-coated Toph. “Good morning” and she jumped off the wall to stand upright like normal people would. The rest of us had to pause to be in surprise, shock, or in my case, both. Not that I should be surprised, and Toph walked up to me, probably sensing the surprise, and went “I’m the greatest earthbender in the world!” Jee switched back to professional and repeated his suggestion to Toph. 

“Yes, I want us to do boarding. I want to do it myself”. Oh, good. “Very good, Your Majesty. We will come side-by-side with the Fire Navy soon” and he gestured to the approaching line of light cruisers, anchors probably dropped, passively waiting for our arrival. They weren’t vacant. People were shooting fireballs out the metal tubes on the front. Our light cruisers, meanwhile, were off on the flanks. Behind the enemy battle-line sat an armada, as vast as the ocean, of sailboats. “Let’s break some walls!” and Toph dragged me out of the room. 

The two of us ran down the stairs and onto the runway. Commands were being shouted through the speaker system. One of them was “for all those who will board to launch from the cruiser Hakodate”. Out here, it was quite audible. No wonder the Fire Navy was successful, they could communicate to much of the fleet from one flagship. Soldiers bowed to us as we arrived, with a man in the garb of a Lieutenant telling us where to go. We joined a couple dozen soldiers, they gave us personal space, not that it was needed, and followed them down another couple flights of stairs and along a wide hallway before reaching a set of double doors opening onto a balcony.

We crossed on metal gangplanks, dropped by metalbending soldiers, onto a cruiser located across from our doorway. The officers were cheering people on, then they spotted us and yelled “The Blind Bandit and the One-Eyed Badgermole join us!”, earning lots of morale boosting applause and “Ten Thousand Years!” chants. 

The carrier retracted its gangplanks. From down here, it was massive. While only another couple flights of stairs higher, it still encompassed this cruiser in its entirety. Soldiers ducked behind metal walls raised for protection, Toph, as always, pushed her way to the front. We ducked behind the starboard wall. A gap existed where nobody ducked, as a pair of soldiers were telling people to “get back”. Tense moments of nothing, dead silence, passed. The sound of a metal ship as it plowed through the calm waves. Seagulls were wailing, somewhere in the distance, Druk screeched. Toph kept tapping her feet, murmuring something inaudible. The bridge of the cruiser was constantly being hit by fire-bolts. When they stopped coming over our heads, that is, coming from ahead of us, we knew we had arrived. No horns blew. A large stone gangplank was raised from the middle of the ship, high like an obelisk above us. On its tips, metal spikes. It was ‘tipped over’. The stone slab fell, metal pierced metal, and the battle was on. 

Four Royal Guards charged first, dao in hand, followed by Toph, then myself, then the Naval Infantry. Crossing the gangplank, the Fire Navy soldiers on the other side raised their hands and put them behind their heads. “Don’t kill us, we surrender!” and they knelt. When the guards reached the other side of the plank, they halted. “Orders, Your Majesty?” one of the men said while keeping an eye on the kneeling soldiers. Toph walked up to one -the guards restrained his hands with metal shackles- and ordered he “repeat yourself” while grabbing his forehead. “I...surrender! We all have families! Save us from...” and Toph released her grip. “He’s telling the truth. Next?” _Smash_. A body fell from somewhere and landed on the deck. 

The guards got into stances and looked ready to kill the entire platoon of Fire Navy sailors. Looking up, the bridge’s windows were smashed. Only then did we notice the yelling. “Fall back!” followed by a loud thump. The guards brought their hands up for the kill, but Toph screamed “no! They surrender! Restrain them and bring them aboard!” Meanwhile, I sheathed my blade and ran for the ladder. Before Toph could tell me otherwise, I had scrambled up the ladder. Inside, the ship’s controls were smoldering and four men were standing in a defensive position pointing at the doorway. Another two were bleeding out on the floor. They didn’t notice me. I walked around from the front to the through the balcony door just in time to see one of the men get hit in the face with a small rock. The other three launched blasts at the doorway, but as if the figure sensed this coming, he waited until after the strikes to jump into the room, wielding a stone spear. 

He shoved his stone spear through the left guard’s face, ran past him, and pulled the shaft out. The other two guards backed up to where I was standing. One of them noticed me in his peripheral vision and fled towards the smashed window. Not a good idea. The old man smirked and snapped the stone like one would snap a twig. Two gurgling sounds, two men impaled with two halves of the same spear. Their bodies fell over, only to be deformed further by his retrieval of his spear. 

I finally noticed his face. That same wispy beard. The sunken eyes. The snow-colored skin. This time, his unkempt hair was done in a topknot, tied with the same green cloth he had used for a headband. And the voice. “The One-Eyed Badgermole!” and he brought his bloodstained hands up for a bow. “Sorry about the mess!” and he snorted. Lao Ge.

“What in the name of me are you doing here?” but that only earned a snicker from him. “That was a good one. I’m boatnapping this boat!” and he wiped his hands off on one of the downed soldiers’ shirts. “Did you know we were boarding?” because if you did, that just makes things confusing. “No, I just got bored on Crescent Island and decided to stowaway. Care to join me?” he said while sawing a belt off -with a stone knife- one of the downed soldiers, all to retrieve a flask of whiskey and guzzle it. “Of course you don’t. You’ve got stuff to do! Have a great day son!” and he ran off through the doorway and down the hallway. 

Toph was yelling about my whereabouts from down below, I don’t know as I was in a fog, someone said “the tower, Your Majesty” and she launched herself up here with a pillar. She stomped around and smiled. “Good job capturing this place” but she switched to a concerned tone. “but didn’t these people surrender? Did you kill them?” I wasn’t going to lie and pretend I did. “No.” She stomped over to the doorway and banged it with her fist, probably trying to get a reading of the ship. “I’m fine up here!” she yelled at top volume to alert the soldiers down below us before switching to a quieter voice. “Then who did?” I looked around at the ground, the men impaled like elephant koi by our harpoons. “The spirit of death in the body of an old man?” was the only way I could describe Tieguai to people unfamiliar with Tieguai. “Huh.” and she rusted through her bangs. “You’re telling the truth”. Yes, I was. “I take it he’s on our side?” Instead of thinking, I just said the first thing to mind. “He’s on the side of...Kyoshi Island?” and she punched me in the shoulder. “Good job, Kyoshi! That means he’s an ally!” and she walked out the balcony door and lowered herself with the ladder. He’s not an ally. He’s not an enemy. He’s Tieguai. He’s not a defender of the Earth Kingdom, that’s for certain. He’s killed more Earth Kings than anyone else in history, combined. 

After the prisoners were taken, we found out that all of the battle-line ships had surrendered. In some cases, the soldiers mutinied and abandoned their commanding officers -and loyalists- to surrender on the main deck. Thus, the soldiers on the bridge weren’t going to surrender. Was the rest of the Fire Nation going to surrender? Some soldiers say yes, some say no. The civilian fleet scattered like a pack of cat-deer on a hunt. When Admiral Jee addressed Her Imperial Majesty with “what would Your Majesty like to do? We have multiple options. Sail east to collect our stuff, then sail west to demolish Caldera, let Prince Iroh try and win over the population-” she gave her answer, cutting him off. “I didn’t have the artillery built to sit around! Let’s blow something up!” I excused myself to my Imperial Quarters to think up a response to this rush of action. Something about meeting Lao Ge again made me need a minute to think. I wasn’t even connecting thoughts with anything he said or didn’t say. Just...something about being in the vicinity of an immortal assassin is quite humbling. 

Does the Fire Nation deserve to be turned into rubble? Definitely. But we’ve already won. Chan’s useless. Bujing’s useless. The defenders of Caldera will have to be pummeled, but once we reach Bujing, they will crumble. Zuko will either win over the people or die trying. If he wins over the population, he’ll be reliant on us for resources and rebuilding his country. If he dies, we can demolish what already exists and allow the Zuko-loyalists to settle in the ruins. If none exist, we find someone else to give the responsibility. I’m sure Aang would be happy to give someone the job of “Protector of the Fire Islands” or some kind of titular title like that. It's not the first time a group of people were driven to the brink of extinction and it won’t be the last. Sadly for the Avatar, there’s only one nation currently left with any military strength and it already has a ruler to kowtow to. 

Later that day, when Toph returned to the Imperial Quarters to rest after “A long day at sea, I can only stand so much seasickness before I need to throw up”, I brought this up with her. She relaxed in the Imperial Bed -picking her teeth- while I sat slumped over the Study, looking at a nautical map of the Fire Islands. “Toph, you do realize that the war’s already won, right? Bujing’s useless and Zuko might as well be our puppet Fire Lord.” I finally found the ability to verbalize my thinking. “After we capture Caldera, let’s...back off from more warring?” Nope, guess I didn’t verbalize it right. “That was my plan, let’s just annihilate Caldera first, let Prince Hotman take the Throne, and finally kick back and enjoy no more war!” and she grinned. I slapped my face. So what was I worried about? We weren’t going to try and colonize the Fire Nation.

Turns out, I was worried about a lesson I learned recently. Every long-term occupation fails. If the Earth Kingdom conquered the Fire Nation, as the Fire Nationals still have a sizeable population, they could pose a long-term guerilla threat. The Air Nomads don’t really have a say in worldly matters and the Water Tribes were already beaten to the edge of destruction, so there’s little to fear from them. Sozin failed because he tried to conquer the Earth Kingdom, a continent that has enough trouble unifying on its own. But we weren’t going to colonize the Fire Nation, right? 

The Journey West: 

A week has passed since my last piece of writing. In that time, we went back to the Azure Docks and spent a full day loading up. I looked out from the bridge of the Kyoshijima as tanks were driven into transport compartments inside the bow of the cruisers. Much of the Imperial Army stood at attention to see their armored fellows off. Credit where it's due, they maintained their column formation as tank after tank, then truck after truck, drove past, one at a time, to load up at a docked cruiser with bow lowered. As for the soldiers, they marched up the staircase into the mouth of light patrol cruisers. Columns went inside, only to vanish into the darkness. The Fire Nation’s pretty good at designing imposing ship designs, and these are no exception. Marching into darkness? That’s quite imposing. Granted, I can also spectate all of this from a comfortable seat atop the bridge of the Kyoshijima, sipping tea and eating roast moose-lion.

With all the ships loaded up, we sailed west again. This time, more saluting and less sudden engines being fired up. Toph wandered the ship, “enjoying the feel” of her feet against metal. I, meanwhile, took to passing the time by examining the plan again and again.

Sokka had left a note saying he was heading “back north to find my sister”. I received, multiple times, letters from Dai Li agents posted around the Western Earth Kingdom, “would you like us to apprehend Sokka for desertion?” and I always replied “no” because it wasn’t desertion. As he wasn’t technically part of the Earth Kingdom, it wasn’t desertion. 

Iroh had returned the same evening he departed, picked up Zuko, and went on their mini-campaign of unifying the Fire Islands. After days of no news, he returned with good news. We met up for refreshments on that sliding table located next to the runway. “Every village we have passed has sworn loyalty to my Nephew. All we have to do now is coronate him” he said, happy. “So when we capture Caldera, we’ll make sure you get coronated”. Zuko, awkwardly, chimed in like a little kid. “Could Your Majesty coronate me...now?” I spat out my water from my glass, causing the guards to involuntarily get into stances. “You do realize...this is an Imperial vessel, right?” but Zuko just scratched the area around his scar. “So?” he really doesn’t get it. Iroh smiled and I thought oh, he’s got it. “I believe what His Majesty is implying is that, as this is a ship that swore allegiance to the Earth Queen, it wouldn’t be possible”. Well, no, but also yes. I coughed to attract the attention of the three other people sitting here who already were paying attention to me, Jee, Iroh and Zuko, and said “there’s some ancient edict that forbids other monarchs from being crowned on any Earth Kingdom vessel, or on the soil of the Earth Kingdom. An Earth Monarch coronated outside the Earth Kingdom would also count.”

During the last Eastern Fire Warlord period, stretching from the end of the 38th Earth King’s reign until the 43rd, the 39th Earth King was crowned in lands belonging to the Fire Nation at the time. His father died of illness at camp and this was before the days of monorails. Thus, he was coronated by members of the Royal Guard along with Ministers who had accompanied his father on campaign. It was on Earth Kingdom soil, what would be the modern day Colonies, but the Earth Kingdom didn’t hold possession of it. As such, his rule was questioned. Unlike somewhere like the Fire Nation, the Earth Monarchs, once crowned, are almost never accused of being illegitimate. The people truly believe the Mandate of the Spirits to have passed to him or her. Only if the Monarch is absolutely tyrannical, usually high taxes, would the people accuse them of the Mandate failing. What differentiates actual Earth Kingdom land from land on the Earth Kingdom continent? Nothing. But don’t tell the people that. They have their traditions and these traditions are all that keep the Earth Kingdom together. They’d just have to wait until we captured Caldera. 

Jee brought up “Prince Iroh, there’s still the matter of the Boiling Rock”. “Didn’t we already decide that we’d wait until the capture of Caldera?” Zuko countered. “If my Kingdom was about to collapse, I’d order the executions of all the high-ranking prisoners.” Did we just never hear Jee’s opinion on this? Now I know another purpose of this journal. I’m forgetting which old man leading what army gave what strategic decisions and asking is pretty embarrassing. “That...makes sense” Zuko said with his best Iroh impression. “What would you suggest, Admiral?” I asked. “Maybe take Druk” the dragon roared when his name was spoken “to the Boiling Rock and liberate the prisoners?” It won’t be this easy. “Where would we put them?” Zuko asked, continuing this inquiry. “Keep them in the prison, albeit free, until we capture Caldera” Jee proposed. And the two Princes agreed to this. Druk snapped like a whip and was off towards an island just barely poking above the horizon to our north.

The Boiling Rock has almost never had a successful escape. Nobody has ever besieged it. Everyone that goes there dies. There’s a single exception. A bloodbender from decades ago. One more tally in favor of “never fight a bloodbender”. Then again, we are in an age where a young woman can invent a new form of earthbending, a person can cross the Earth Kingdom in a month by train, nonbenders can take to the skies and women go to school to learn the art of war in Ba Sing Se. I’m just going to throw up my hands. Anything’s possible. Maybe, one day, someone will even give chase to the sun and see what lies west of the Fire Nation. One day, one may fly high enough to grab the dish-sized moon from the sky.

I retreated to my Imperial Quarters to pick up where I left off, reading The Last Dragonlords, a -very biased towards Sozin- summary of historical records from the fall -quite literally- of the Pho Zel Dynasty to the subsequent Unification Wars. I’m currently reading about a battle on the plains of Nagashino, on the main Fire Nation Island. As with most of these battles, either warlord had their own dragon, sometimes two, and engaged in elaborate aerial dances. The dragons would twist and turn, trying to get around each other. The victor was usually the man whose dragon bit into the throat of his opponent. This battle was special for it marked a departure from older ways of combat. Previously, warlords would engage in these aerial duels and the loser’s forces would rout. Even if they didn’t rout, they’d lose morale when being on the receiving end of a fast-paced, fire breathing dragon. In this instance, the conscripted foot soldiers didn’t run when their warlord was killed. They opened fire with ballistas and slew the other dragon, killing the opposite warlord. The two armies engaged in close quarters combat, only for the brother of the first warlord -the One-Handed Dragon of Sendai- to arrive with a force of Komodo-Rhinos. 

My intoxication with the literature was interrupted by Suki -it was her shift- telling me “a visitor has requested Your Majesty’s presence”. Now, I don’t usually get visits in the middle of the evening by people. Unless it's the Avatar. In the name of Her Imperial Majesty, that better not be Twinkletoes, the Last Peacebender, or… Toph rolled around in her bed, mumbling about “go ahead, just let me sleep” before turning over to clutch a pillow with her feet. I put the book down and got up. I didn’t need to light candles, the room was already quite well-lit. In my most professional of voices, I said “who wishes to see me?” A young man’s voice came from the other side of the door. “I’m Jet, Your Majesty! We met a few days ago!” Jet? Who in the name of the young woman sleeping next to me is Jet? I had to take a minute to recall my Beppus, that’s a province, from my Miyoshis, that’s the name of a prestigious house that defends Shogun Bujing. “Can you give me a refresher? I’m a bit” and I rubbed my head for effect “out of it at the moment?” I left off with a high-pitched question because even I was confused if what I was saying was true. “I met Your Majesty at an airfield?” Still didn’t ring a gong. I met lots of people at an airfield a few days ago, and most of them are now being buried near Fong’s Fortress. His tone became one of please, notice me, “We offered our services in guerilla warfare?” I walked up to the doorway. “Do you chew on straws? Wear orange?” he yelled “That’s me, Your Majesty!” and suddenly sounded more cheery. “Okay, meet me in the room across from this one. It has a table. Captain!” and Suki responded with a “Yes, Your Majesty?” “Get a courier to fetch us refreshments”. 

I checked that my hair was done right, as I don’t want to meet some -probably a insurgent- ‘talented’ people without making sure I look twice as professional as I actually act. It was done into its usual queue, albeit my hair still isn’t nearly Kuei’s length. Likewise, I tied up my Informal Robes and put on my Earth King hat. I also brought along my jian with scabbard, as if I own it, might as well show off the ornate design. I opened the door, the Kyoshi Warriors bowed, and joined me as I crossed the thin hallway to a room with a long table. Not only was Jet here, so was the rest of his...group. They were already standing, which made the following bow that much easier. They had already given up their weapons before coming to the Imperial Quarters. Each one was carrying some three-to-four different knives with accompanying sheaths. Plus Jet’s swords and the paired bow and quiver of arrows.

Jet and the Freedom Fighters:

What were they here for? Jet proposed “taking a sailboat and helping with the scouting for the landing”. I sat down, the Kyoshi Warriors remained standing at my side. We discussed this over some evening drinks. Nothing hard, I didn’t want to intoxicate the...what, nine year old? wearing an oversized leather cap. They presented their experiences. Jet lead the team, which has waxed and waned in size. Each of his Core Four, him, Smellerbee, Longshot and Sneers, have assisted local Earthbender rebellions in retaking pockets of land amidst the Western Earth Kingdom. He launched attacks on the Fire Nation outpost of Gaipan. After an interaction with the Avatar -seriously, does everyone come into contact with him- he chose to move on from the Freedom Fighters and disbanded the organization. However, with the start of the ‘bloodless’ Colonial War -bloodless for everyone not in the Colonies- he said, and I quote “I remembered what I was fighting for: The Earth Kingdom” and the rest of his group nodded. “We discussed it, and by pure coincidence, two Dai Li agents arrived and had claimed to have heard of us. They offered us guerilla training and pay”. _Interesting, glad to see that plan of Han’s work._ “It took a little convincing” and he nudged Smellerbee who scoffed and rolled her eyes “but we realized that serving the Earth Kingdom was the ultimate goal of the Freedom Fighters. Like that, we were back in business” and everyone save Longshot cheered. 

The Kyoshi Warriors gave me _these people aren’t liars looks_, as the Kyoshi Warriors, while not as good as Toph, can usually tell folk tales from truth, if nothing better. “So, propose your idea again” I said while gesturing for another glass of whatever-this-fruit-was drink. Jet explained that he wanted to take a sailboat to capture, and if not possible, infiltrate, the same coastline that Suki and I once washed ashore on. From there, he’d plan out their next moves. His main plan is to find guard towers ‘along the beach’ and render them inoperational. 

I retrieved an Imperial Seal, thanks Suki, and wrote up a scroll ordering the Quartermaster of the Kyoshijima to hand him a copy of the most up-to-date maps, two weeks of provisions, and a messenger hawk. As for sailboats? He’d be dispatched on one of the light cruisers, and when the fleet turns north to its landing spot, his team would take the kayaks from one of these light cruisers in the middle of the dark and go ashore. I didn’t tell him all this, no. I simply wrote it up in a scroll, then stamped and handed it to him. He almost inhaled his straw. “Your Majesty, I’m…” and he went wide eyed. A minute of Smellerbee looking at him and hugging him later, he came to. “Where was I...what happened?” Suki pointed at me, I smiled and pointed at the scroll. I stood, then he stood and said “Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty”. The rest of his team repeated it after the scroll was done being handed around. But I wasn’t done. “Jet, halt” and he gasped. “I am yours to command, Your Majesty?” “As you’re now part of the Imperial Army, I must give you an appropriate rank”. I retrieve a scroll and wrote down a promotion I thought was equal to being given the command of a strike team of six. Stamp. Nobody would go against an Imperial Seal. “Congratulations, Corporal Jet of the Imperial Earth Army” and I handed him the scroll. He looked at it, went the same kind of saucer eyed he did before, looked at his teammates, then back at me and bowed. The rest of them followed suit. I then dismissed them so I could go to sleep and take off this stuffy Earth King hat. I’m going to need to change this one.

I’m writing this the same night as my interaction with Corporal Jet. Thanks to his Imperial stamped papers, Jet crossed over to a light cruiser during the night by means of retractable walkway. According to the nautical charts, we return to within sight of the Fire Nation’s last victory tomorrow. That night, he will land while we sail north to land.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, the artillery bombardment of Caldera begins!


	60. The Final Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is set up preceding the greatest siege in Earth Kingdom history!

HIM Entry LX:

“You may fire when ready, Captain”

The Last Morning at Sea:

Suki woke me up with the age old technique of “shaking someone until they wake up”. At first, I thought it was part of a dream, but then when she poured a cup of water on my hair I woke up. “Good not-yet-morning. You should probably get dressed, big day ahead” she ended off with a smile. “What of Toph?” “Let her sleep in” and I sat up to look over at her face. The one candle in the room made it kind of hard to see anything but I could see the right half of her, dimly. “Its not like today is the day when we land and unload the big explosive thing that can blow up mountainsides. I hear it can even outcompete the greatest of earthbenders” and Toph hammer kicked the bed. “Did. Someone. Challenge. Me?” she said while sitting up and gripping her carpet of hair. Suki smirked. “I didn’t. The Imperial Siege Cannon did” and she pointed at me. Toph slid off her bed and got up “then let’s go show it who the greatest earthbender of all is!” and she stomped towards the door, retrieved her wrestler clothes from the metal basket they were left in, and put them on. “Are you going to let her beat you?” I groaned. “No, I won’t.” and I got up and retrieved my Imperial Armor and groaned again. “I’m supposed to put _ all of this on _ before she puts on, what, a green shirt and a yellowish wrestler buttoned-up thing?” “Yes” they both said at the same time. “I could tell you to put on the Imperial Wintertime Robes” _ in the middle of a tropical ocean with warm sea breezes. _

Taking pity on me “if only you could metalbend”, she -from the door- pulled the Armor out of my hands. “Hold still, I’m still tired” _ oh good _ . The Imperial Armor isn’t pure metal. Its overlapping metal plates -invisible to nonbenders- covered on both sides by layers of thick cloth. Thus, when she or Wuhan metalbends armor, they’re picking up the dozens of plates with accompanying layered unbendable clothing. As Toph is Toph, as long as she’s not under attack, the task is as simple as metalbending over a set of utensils _ for me to use because she only likes to eat what she can touch and rip apart with her hands. _I get the responsibility of putting on my own helmet, so I don’t have to feel completely useless.

Reconnaissance Report:

Today happened to be an exceptionally clear sky with little in the way of clouds. As such, we waited until just after sunrise to dispatch scout biplanes. One Squadron was designated as Scouts. “Get us an overview of the defenses. Guard towers, the Royal Capital, the Great Gates, any airfields, and any installations of note”. Their orders were to scout, not to bomb. Each one was raised via a stone platform at the back of the runway, then launched. Each aircraft has floats -they look like catamaran’s hulls- above their wheels. Should the carrier be unavailable, they can land on the water. Each one would depart and fly straight ahead, become a glistening green colored dot, then vanish. 

The four biplanes returned during the mid-morning, sometime after breakfast. Each one would circle around the carrier before slowing down and landing on the runway. It's one thing to land on a large airfield where you probably have enough room to land. It's another thing to land on this stone slab in the middle of the Mo Ce. Good thing we continued straight ahead and didn’t have to make any diversions. As each aircraft lands, their plane is transported below deck via a lowerable stone slab near the bow of the ship. 

I met Admiral Jee below deck in the ship’s hanger to meet the scouts. Lots of bowing and greetings and bowing and “can we get on to the scout report?” and “Forgive me, Your-” “Just talk”. Each of them claims “the city is a set of barricades upon barricades.” They mentioned that the main avenue has been dug in. Trenches have been dug right at the beachhead. Barbed wire has been strewn across the beaches and down the side streets. From the air, they described the defense of the city as “a maze of wire, spikes, traps and pitfalls”. It seems like Bujing really wants to bring his city down with him. 

As for towers, many of them are devoid of ballistas. Instead, it appears as if they have been placed on the main streets inside houses. The volcano rim’s path up has been laced with spikes and other such traps. No airfields were spotted. No Navy guards the harbor. The docks have all been blown, meaning the only possible landing will be from the bow of a cruiser. 

The city is far from empty. The four aircraft came under anti-aircraft fire. “It was as if every house and shop launched fire at us”. The Great Gates of Azulon have been partially repaired. All-in-all, this would be...hard. Not impossible. We have the Blind Bandit.

Landing at the Cliffs:

As was originally our plan, only the Artillery and associated infantry support would be deployed at the main landing site. The tanks would land on the beachhead along with the brunt of the infantry assault. Why not take the cliffs? One reason: The roads leading down from the sides of the cliffs have been demolished. A better reason from General How: “By the time we paved a road to use for the tanks, our infantry would be attacked from all angles. The tanks would be like sitting turtle ducks as they come down one at a time.” 

The sun passed over our heads when our ships turned north. Azulon’s gargantuan monument watched us from miles to the west. We followed the cliffs north. Toph and I had nothing to discuss with Admiral Jee or General How. At this point, it was in their hands. The two of them spent much of the day reciting the War Plan, discussing it with each other and barking instructions through the speaker system. 

We followed the cliffs until Azulon vanished and we came upon an inlet. The designated landing spot. The task force, from the air, looks like a moving model of Ba Sing Se with the _ Kyoshijima _in the middle, Toph and I in the middle of the ship, a central ring of cruisers forming a wall around us, then an outer ring of light cruisers. One light cruiser was going to land while one biplane was launched from the runway for scouting.

Nothing. The black grasslands, at this point ashen barren lands, were empty. For whatever reason, Bujing abandoned his cliffs. Toph didn’t care about procedure. “Get me on the first boat going to shore!” And Jee had to halt his dispatched light cruiser to put Toph, who physically dragged me, who politely dragged Suki, who didn’t drag Wuhan because he loves doing these things, who dragged Shi and Jie, who dragged the Bannermen, who dragged the Royal Guard, onto a different light cruiser. The entire landing force might as well have been Royal Guard. 

Needless to say, once the bow dropped, the elite earthbenders hastily made earth walls and connected them into an ever-growing circular wall. When Toph put one foot in the water, as the bow couldn’t drop on land, she yelled out “I am drowning!” and fell over and began rolling around in the water. “No, you aren’t. We’ve gone through this before” I said, being the only person who _ could _ say that. “Yes, I am drowning!” she insisted. The guards sprung into action and grabbed her and carried her out of the water. They placed her on the sandy beach. “Is Your Majesty alright?” someone whose name I don’t know said to her. Toph hammerfisted the ground and sprayed Suki and I with water. Mud coated water. “She’s fine” Suki said, wiping her face down. “Good thing I wasn’t wearing makeup.” I walked over to Toph and looked down at the flailing Earth Queen. She must’ve detected it was me because she grinned. She broke her jokingness and spun around and girlishly yelled “Oh sweet sweet earth” and she kissed the ground. “Guards, please give Her Imperial Majesty some space” and they all backed off one pace each. Not much space. Enough for her to grab the ground and smear it all over her. She sat up and scolded her guards while facing me. “How can any of you call yourselves earthbenders? Go kiss the ground!” They kowtowed to the earth and began praying. “Your Imperial Majesty has reminded us that our roots are in the earth.” 

Toph went and walked up the grass a hundred Consort feet or so, lied down and made herself an earth tent. So what do the Royal Guards do? They formed a larger open-topped stone building around and above her miniscule earth tent. The rest of us got our own Quarters, earth tents. Mine was right next to hers, Suki joined me, and I don’t know where the Royal Guards slept. I don’t recall being tired when I went to lie down -after stripping off my armor- for a short nap on fur blankets brought off the ship for us. 

Deploying the Artillery:

I woke up to very loud grinding that felt like it was right next to my ears. I opened the curtain while still dressed in undergarments, the tropics are hot at night and I sweated through these thick fur blankets, and went to find someone. The stone structure was nearly pitch black. As this was an open-topped building, looking up let me see the brilliant night sky. The stars were bright enough that the ground was faintly visible. For a second I thought _ oh if I stomp my ground, I’ll be able to use seismic sense _ . Nope. Just a stomp. So I made a left and found Toph’s earth tent. I banged on it multiple times. “Your Majesty, get up?”. All I got was the earth under my feet went backwards and a “No”. _Right, she's asleep_. Then my brain started working again and it hit me that maybe the grinding was coming from outside. I went back into my room, put on my Informal Robes, grabbed my scabbard, and walked outside. Oil lanterns hung _ outside _ the stone building. 

Men and women were walking around with flame-lit palms. Someone had turned and noticed me and a woman’s voice yelled out “His Imperial Majesty!” and suddenly all those flame palms were facing me and the grinding ceased. They cut off their fires to bow. I cut one of them off before he could say the usual “Ten Thousand Years” and asked, with slurred speech, “What’s going on out here? I hear lots of grinding.” “Your Majesty, we are assembling the rail track.” As I was still asleep, I asked “what rail track?” and the man clarified “for the Imperial Siege Cannon”. _ Oh, that _. “Very good” I bowed and went back inside. I made sure to grab a lantern on the way back in. 

I pulled open the tent and Suki was there, sitting up, covering herself with one of her blankets. “My apologies for waking you up, Captain” she half-heartedly laughed. “Shouldn’t we be sleeping for tomorrow’s assault?” she asked. “Can’t, there’s loud-” and the grinding amplified itself, now sounding like something big being pushed on it. “...grinding.” and she snorted in laughter. “Well if you can’t go to sleep, how will you function?” she posed a confusing question to me at the time. “Who says I’m fighting?” that answer made her laugh. “You’re the Earth King, or something. Father always spoke of ‘a strong Earth King is a strong Earth Kingdom,’ now go back to sleep!”. Now, in retrospect, this was all obvious. But recall that we were sleep deprived and or half-asleep. “But I can't,” I whined. Then I did anyways because fur blankets are nice and soft, _thanks for handing me one Sukes. _

I woke up, this time, to twilight. Suki joined me as we put on our clothes, she helped me into my Imperial Armor and I fastened her Kyoshi Warrior armor for kindness’s sake. We walked outside and came upon a large metal wall. Except it wasn’t a metal wall. It was the Imperial Siege Cannon. The tube pointed -up and- off at the volcano in the distance to the south-west. Earth tracks were laid for this thing to be put on and pushed forwards. Walking alongside it, there was nobody walking around, I spotted, one, two, four, ten, twice that, twice _ that _, forty Artillery Trucks. Each one was lined up akin to at Osaka in two long straight lines. This time, with story-tall earth walls directly in front of the trucks and anti-aircraft batteries dotted between them. 

“Your Imperial Majesty, we were about to begin the artillery bombardment!” General How said while walking over from probably somewhere more important. Preceding his obvious question, “of course I’d love to oversee the Siege Cannon!” and Suki smirked. She nudged my shoulder “Glad to see you’ve got some Earth Queen in you”. 

“Your Majesty, everything’s ready to go, the cannon has been sighted.” “Very good, now let’s get firing”. I walked to the back of the train-cannon and looked _ up _ at the large tube. They had added a loading mechanism into this thing since its younger brother’s test firing days. Metalbending soldiers placed a shell the length and width of a person into a large opening which they then slid into the tube. It took four Metalbending Royal Guard to push the breech loader into the barrel of the cannon. 

Suki and I got on top of the stone building we were sleeping inside of, well we were in earth tents inside the courtyard of this stone building, as the walls had platforms above them. “Captain Wuhan!” How shouted from what could only be thirty feet over. “Yes, General?” a figure said, having turned around from his job of placing the shell in the tube. “Oh, Your Imperial Majesty!” and he bowed. “You may fire when ready, Captain!” I yelled, punching the air. He yelled “men, salute His Imperial Majesty!” and all the Royal Guards operating the cannon, people guarding it, grabbing additional shells, making sure the sights are lined up, stopped what they were doing to draw their blades and punch the air. “Ten Thousand Years!” 

“All artillery, open fire!” How yelled. Horns sounded. 

The tip of the sun, a blood red sun, rose. It cast us all in horizontal streaks of red. 

“Ten Thousand Years!” 

_ Crack _. A thunderclap. A man-made thunderclap. The shell was so powerful it hit us with a gust of wind, tearing my hastily put on cape right off and sending it over the railing. 

The field to our right exploded in claps of its own. Each truck was firing off a shell. 

Far off in the distance, the volcano was hit with such an explosive that it’s soundwave popped my ears. The whole thing was enveloped by a cloud of brown smoke before we could tell what happened. Other, fainter, bangs, signified the other shells were hitting something. Maybe it was the city. Maybe it was something else. Maybe one of them would hit Bujing in the face. Wuhan and the two men -Shi and Jie- that punched that shell almost fainted. “Captain! Grab them!” How yelled while jumping off the platform, summoning earth pillars to step on, propelling him to grab the teetering Wuhan. “Sorry General, I didn’t expect it to be so exhausting!” I heard him say from my position. Other metalbenders, stationed around the train, grabbed the other two. 

Toph popped up in the middle of the alleyway between us and the Cannon, dressed in her usual wrestler garb, with one exception. “Morning Your Majesty, nice hat!” from Suki. Toph was wearing an oversized conical helmet, akin to the ones worn by the earthbending soldiers. “Right? It’s quite sweet” and she banged it with her fist. 

That helmet, as it would later turn out, has a short story of its own. The Mechanist had it specially built for Her Imperial Majesty. He never got around to sending it to her and only recalled its existence after Azure Docks and sent it along with the Colonial Fleet. From there, it was only delivered to Her Imperial Majesty yesterday, sometime after I fell asleep and before I woke up again. And she _ loves _it. 

With the Three taken to their beds to rest, the Siege Cannon would be inoperational, right? Wrong. “This’ll be easy!” Toph yelled in happiness, pillaring herself up to the vehicle. “Someone get me one of these shells!” “Right away, Your Majesty!” and four Royal Guard picked up a shell larger than Toph and handed it to her. She placed it straight in the tube, spat in her hands and wiped them. Standing but an arm’s length from the barrel that’s probably double her size, she twisted her feet, causing the metal to grab her and hold her, while she tapped the shell a few times with her palms. “General, point this thing at something else! No need to blow two holes in the same rock!” “Right away, Your Majesty!” and a platoon of earthbenders rotated the tracks themselves, turning the cannon to the left. We all had to back up to avoid being hit in the face with the rear of the cannon. “This is as far as we can turn it, Your Majesty!” one of them yelled up to her. 

The other artillery was still firing, with erratic bangs quite audible when I stuck my ear to the ground. But Toph? She blew her bangs apart, rubbed the back of the shell, inhaled and exhaled a few times...and silence. _ Crack _ . She slammed her fist at the shell, sending it flying out the end of the barrel and off towards Caldera. A shockwave from a _ boom _ verified that she hit something. Dirt was sent flying into the air followed by smoke cloud rising from inside the city, between the near cliff and the far cliff. 

“Ten Thousand Years!” the soldiers shouted, before kowtowing. 

Launching Point:

By lunchtime, the drumming and thumping of artillery had ceased. We had run out of explosive shells. We resorted to stone ammunition. _How?_ Much quieter than explosive shells but they make up for it in number. I went out after lunch to do a troop review. The artillery trucks were slowly advancing towards the far-from-here cliffs. Their angles change and alternate with every shot. Small grey dots fly across the sky before striking targets hidden from view. Wuhan and his associates almost collapsed because they were working on the Siege Cannon all night. When they awoke, sometime in the afternoon, they could get back to operating it. 

I wasn’t there for that, though. Grand Secretariat Han stirred me from my sword practice, alone, in the field to the south with a reminder that “The future Fire Lord might not like Your Majesty laying siege to _ his _capital”. With that in mind, I recalled how fast dragons fly. “So you’re proposing that we strike now and end the war?” He stuck his hands in his sleeves “All I’m proposing, Your Majesty, is that he can’t chastise Your Majesty for past actions if he has the throne”. I wasn’t going to budge to this. We could continue the siege on forever, bombarding the city, ceasing when Zuko arrives, and send in troops to help him take the city. Han spun around and walked back towards the defensive position.

But I don’t speak for the Imperial Army. We -the Generals, Jee, myself- can strategize all we want, but it's their morale that wins battles, not our planning. And leading them all in “let’s attack Caldera” was none other than Her Imperial Majesty. Dragged into her earth tent -General Song was enjoying some tea with her-, “Come on, Kyoshi, what are we waiting for, let’s attack!” In a panicked voice, I countered. “Your Majesty, we have all this artillery-” she cut me off. “And right before you land, it will stop” _ You? Me? I’m leading this? _ “You do realize attacking without artillery support is-” “Lots of fun.” and she shouted. “Guards!” a pair of Royal Guards entered. “Take the Consort, help him assemble whatever gear he needs and draw up a letter!” and she faced me, for once. “And Kyoshi, you can do it” and she punched me in the shoulder. _ Han. You bastard of Oma. _ _ I'm going to gut you.  
_

In retrospect, I wasn’t going to defy her orders. Even if they were calling for a suicide charge. I was pressed between a rock and an Earth Queen. If I defy her Imperial Mandate of the Spirits, what does that say to the masses? “The second-in-command defies her, so what stops us?” I had to take a few minutes to think in peace. There was nothing I could do to stop the headstrong Imperial Army. Absolutely nothing. At least when I get reports from the Dai Li, I don’t _ need _ her approval, but all the soldiers are sided with her. I wrote down her wishes, read them to her, and stamped it with the Imperial Seal. I then brought it to General How.

“Your Majesty, we have reason to believe that the Avatar will arrive soon. The city must fall before he does” How said after greeting me in his General’s pavilion. I turned red. “Did that bastard Han tell you?” He turned to his cabinet to pull one drawer open. “No, I received a scroll with the seal of the mayor of New Taku” _ Excuse me? _ “What did it say?” He frantically rifled through the drawer, pulling out and tossing scrolls onto his desk. “I can’t find it” _ Han. You...you circumvented my rules didn’t you. _“What did it say?” I yelled. “Magister Loban was warning of a furious Avatar who, upon finding out ‘the truth’ of what happened in the North, compared Her Imperial Majesty to Sozin” he said with a genuine fear, as if a knife would pop in the tent flap. I grabbed him and began shaking him while screaming into his face. “How, don’t you get it? Han’s making it up!” and I released him. He kowtowed and begged mercy. “Forgive me, Your Majesty.” I wasn’t going to have How executed for being fooled. Everyone gets fooled, one way or another. How’s not one to be fooled so quickly, though. “If Han’s right…” and I my neck went cold, shivering, even in the warm weather. “If Han’s right...Avatar Kyoshi cut a landmass off the mainland...if Han’s right…” How finished it for me. “...the entire Northern Fleet of the Fire Navy....” and I focused on his eye with mine while his went wide. 

_ Han's lying. The Avatar's not that smart, right? _

The Night Before the Assault:

Suki, who had just woken up for the evening shift, assisted me into my Imperial Armor. “This time, I’m putting on makeup.” Might as well look terrifying as you slice the doors off the Royal Palace. My blueish green armor was accented with a cape bearing the Imperial Seal. The Piandao-forged jian sat snugly in its scabbard. I retrieved a bow and accompanying quiver, nothing ornate. The quiver sat opposite my scabbard, as even if my bow hand _ wasn't _my sword’s off hand, I need access to the scabbard. Suki, for once, could proudly tuck her fans into her waistband. 

Horns sounded for the two of us as we walked past the thunderclap producing, earthquaking, Imperial Siege Cannon. I gave one last wave to Toph, though she was still in her tent, probably picking her toes. We were welcomed aboard a cruiser, the _ Beppu _, and set off for quarters to rest. We only had a few hours to sleep before the assault would commence; the pre-dawn hours of tomorrow morning. 

We both went to sleep, a blanket’s a blanket, only for me to awake in what felt like a few minutes later to what sounded like a crack of thunder. “Guards!” I yelled, two opened the door and ran into the room. The light from outside illuminate a piece of the bedroom. “Yes, Your Majesty?” “What’s that noise?” “The _ Beppu _ firing at shore targets, Your Majesty”. “What time of night is it?” I asked while looking out the circular window built into the wall. I could see their reflections in it. “Still dark, no twilight yet, Your Majesty.” I dismissed them, but asked for a lantern. “Guards, get me a drink. No battle’s complete without one!” and one bowed and ran off. 

“I’ve got something in my bag!” Suki let herself be heard. A lantern, probably taken off the hallway, was given to me. I placed it down on the sole low piece of furniture in the room, a nightstand, and shut the door. “Here” she handed me a bottle of whiskey. Examining it in the dim lantern light.

_ Kyoshi’s Own, Clear Whiskey. Dated Year Two Hundred Twenty Three of Avatar Kyoshi _.

“Where did you get this?” I asked while my voice almost broke in shock. “I had some of the girls bring it north during a trip home. Let’s split it, together.” 

Lit by firelight from an oil lantern, Suki and I grabbed our whiskey flasks, cleaned them, poured out the previous whiskey, and opened the bottle. It smelled of freshly cut spruce trees, of that cool spring air that would waft through the houses when the sun returned in the spring. To think, this whiskey was tasted, sampled, by Kyoshi’s own holy hand. “What are we toasting to?” I asked.

“To the end of the Hundred Year War? To the destruction of the Fire Nation? To the safety and health of the descendants of Kyoshi? To the ideals of Kyoshi being spread from Sunrise to Sunset Sea? To total justice bringing total peace? To the fall of tyrants?” “Let’s drink first, toast later” I said, and she poured a small portion of the bottle into her flask, then mine. _ Gulp _ . I let it sit for a minute and savored every drop. It was _ strong _. 

“Oh, to the Fan Emperor!” and she broke into laughter. “Fan Emperor?” I raised my eyebrow. “Yeah!” she laughed “Is that my new name?” I asked with all the seriousness of someone who couldn’t sleep. “You aren’t a flying boar-” “and I’m not a fan.” “Oh just play along!” she begged. “We don’t have Emperors as nobody has ever successfully united the Earth Kingdom.” Suki made a convincing argument. “Well you both did.” Could I counter her? “And if I become Emperor, what? I have to form an entire new government?” “Sure, why not!” and we clinked our flasks together. 

Leading By Example:

We left the room, still quite sober, and set off for the bow of the ship. We descended flights of stairs, following signs, only to come upon a railing atop a platform in a large room packed with men and women. And four tanks. “His Imperial Majesty!” someone shouted, causing the whole room to stare at the two of us and bow. “Yes, I’m here to lead you.” A couple voices yelled out. “Will Your Majesty lead us as in Ba Sing Se?” and the crowd went silent. “You mean from the front? Why not!” and they punched the air.

I clanked the metal walkway, stairway, came down to mingle with the people, they parted for me, and I got to standing at the front of the mass. The bow curves upwards, vanishing behind the ceiling some two stories above us. Suki got to my right side while the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors arrived to scatter themselves amongst the crowd.

It was comprised of all kinds of people. For the sake of identifying friend from foe in battle, they all wore green. Red undershirts were still around, just not pronounced. Conical hats mixed with leather helmets. Spears of different sizes propped up like a forest of spikes. And the flags. Every tenth person was carrying a spear with a flag on it. The Earth Kingdom’s emblem. Together, the greens formed a curtain of draped flags that I couldn’t see over. 

Standing there for the better part of an hour, we had to listen to the thundering of the artillery firing above us. We were first informed, through the sound system, that “the Great Gates have fallen”, causing the crowd to cheer. Then, we were told “Coming in to land!”, earning yells of “let’s do this!” A man behind me, he had a thick white beard and a queue, asked “for a speech”. I wasn’t one to deny him. As it turns out, he was Tyro, appointed by the masses to lead the western Earth Kingdom militia. 

"The Mandate of the Spirits is eternal! The Mandate is undefeatable! The Mandate has picked Her Imperial Majesty and all of us are but Her Imperial Majesty's loyal servants!"

"We are Her Imperial Majesty's loyal servants!" the crowd shouted.

"Our glorious Kingdom has been long divided. Today, it will unite! If I am to meet a end today, it will be in a unbreakable last stand!"

"We will not break!" the crowd shouted.

"The cowardly Avatar will flee before our Mandate! The Fire Lord will capitulate! A Hundred Years ends today!"

"The Hundred Year War ends today!"

"And Ten Thousand Years begins today!"

“Ten Thousand Years!” the crowd punched the air at the same time.

"Ten Thousand Years!" they punched the air again.

I drew my blade.

The bow dropped open. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Han, you bastard.
> 
> The Siege of Caldera begins, with, D-Day!


	61. Second Battle of Caldera - The Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Earth Kingdom lands at Caldera! It's like D-Day with firebenders and earthbenders and incompetent idiots.

HIM Entry LXI:

We marched off the ship. Off a metal coffin and into a sandy one.

Waves on the Shore:

The bow opened and we instantly came under fire. Fireballs from hidden positions filled the crowd. The first wave -runners- was mostly taken down. It didn’t matter. I punched the air with my jian while walking down the bow. To raise morale, I sang. 

“It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se

But the girls in the city/they look so pretty

And they kiss so sweet that you've really got to meet/The girls from Ba Sing Se!”

The rest of the crowd joined me in song, repeating it as we marched off, line by line, onto the beach. More blasts came in. All around us, individuals on the edge or front of the column were being picked off by fireballs. The soldiers who decided to get in front of me faced the brunt of it. Earth walls were brought out of the ground and provided temporary defensive positions. I ducked behind one. 

The next few moments felt like days. The column of well-organized marching men and women scattered in all directions. The screams. People were being set alight all around us, and they ran opposite of the mass, dived into the waters, and that was that. I used my position to look to the sides. Other ships were coming in. The one of the farthest left, my far right, took a ballista bolt to the bow artillery. Speaking of, I paid extra attention to the cruisers. The were firing shells right over our heads, their impacts unnoticeable amidst the yelling. 

Peeking out of the defenses, the lead elements of this...was I leading a _ militia _? were trying to get off the beach. _A milita? Han._ The beach itself looked as if a hundred campfires were set one alongside the other. The Kyoshi Warriors had dived into a trench right next to me and were awaiting orders. “Suki, you can shieldwall, right?” she nodded, sheathing her katana. “Girls, shieldwall!” and they jumped out of their trench, stabbed the air, and their shields opened. Immediately, a fireball was sent their way, but it dissipated. “What’s your plan” “Flank right” “Got it” and I ran behind the shields. The shields spread to allow Suki to take her position as lead shield, to whom others would interlock. 

Together, they formed a lion-turtle formation while we slowly advanced up the beach to the right. I saw fire blasts directed towards us, only to have no effect. Looking behind me, more waves of people, this time dressed like...more militia, were running ashore. They carried more flags than spears. “Onwards! Ten Thousand Years!” was their chant. And those Ten Thousand Years came crashing down with fire and bolt.

A couple dozen of these men and women came running past us and provided excellent targets for the entrenched defenders ahead of us. They fell, but not before buying our shieldwall enough time to reach the edge of the beach. “Break formation, charge!” Suki yelled, drawing her fan. The platoon of Warriors became individuals. Ahead of us, the defenders were stuck in a melee with the last of the militia. 

The spikes that formed a long palisade from coast to coast were cleared over here on the right flank. Each Warrior blocked fireballs just as they blocked hand-thrown stones in training. Hand-thrown stones? _No. These Warriors were my age. I was loosing arrows at them during training._ I had to focus on avoiding tripping over the bodies, and if not the bodies, the holes in the ground with spikes poking out of them. 

Once we reached the wharfs, we had to contend with a trench network. Each Warrior jumped in at a different position and engaged multiple defenders at once. Where I was, Suki allowed a man to lunge forward, causing him to trip over himself and land right in front of my blade. The couple men to my right had lost their spears and were in a punching match with the defenders. 

These trenches were two men wide, at most. Sand was pouring in at spots and the floor was muddy from the water table. Suki went left, I followed her. An old man, still dressed in the ancient armor of Sozin-era Firebenders, tried to hack Suki with a dao. She grabbed his hand as he came down for the strike, twisted it ever so slightly, and made him flip over on himself, into a trench wall. Another came at her with a spear, she cut the spear in two with a fan strike then cut his leg out from under him, knocking him to the ground.

The first-line trenches zig-zagged along the shoreline housing. In some places, it ran up to the two-story tall spikes. In others, it ran half a block inland and had staircases leading up to once-dockside housing. Alleyways themselves were dug out to form the trench. This made clearing it nearly impossible. 

We couldn’t encroach towards the center of the beachhead as it was heavily defended. Instead, Suki and I walked up a shoddy sand staircase, the steps falling from beneath us, into someone’s shop. A large stone hole in the seaside wall allowed us to see part of the shop. The pottery and paintings were smashed. A young man jumped out from hiding behind the barter counter, club in hand, and swung at me. He missed. He jumped over the counter and tried tackling Suki. She took a step to the side, causing him to tackle the stone floorboards instead. Still desiring an honorable death, I assume, he drew a knife and tried tossing it at my leg. It bounced off the leg armor. _Ha! Only a crossbow would do me harm. _Suki gave him a good kick and that was that. The Kyoshi Warriors returned for orders and resumed status of bodyguards. 

General Mak Retreats:

One of the shops hugging the right cliffs was multi-storied. I went as fast as I could through the trenches and ordered any passing men to “take that shop!”. Individuals nodded and followed the trench towards the position. We lacked any communication with the rest of the army and as such had no idea how the offensive was going. I’d occasionally get a glance over to the shoreline. Our men were barely making progress. They clutched lots of flags, sure, but that meant nothing. 

The three-storied building was a rarity. “Your Majesty!” they declared when I arrived at the front of a column of Kyoshi Warriors. Our men had reached the trench side entrance and were in the process of battering down the door with kicks. One man, wearing a green headband but otherwise the garb of an Earth Kingdom peasant, ran forward and stomped the ground. A small set of earth pillars popped up breaking the foot of the door down. Another stomp and the door fell off its hinges. The earthbender took a fireblast to the face while everyone else crowding around the door ran in. Some of them were surprised to find blasts coming from _ above _them.

The Warriors raised their shields and blocked all shots while we formulated a plan. “We could find a ladder” “We could flank the tower” “We could pull back and allow the men to take it” “We could always skip it” came the suggestions. Using the age-old concept of opportunity striking, I said “no, we’re taking the tower” and they cheered. They keep the shields high while I lead the charge inside. 

The interior was lit with lanterns and had tossed-over tables and chairs littering the room. Fighting was coming from other rooms. Suki found a staircase and -through gestures- we ascended it in pairs with me somewhere in the middle. As they were all expert melee combatants, I switched to a bow with an arrow nocked but not drawn back. Reaching the second story, the common room of this house-shop had a large map with the beach atop a center table. A single man yelled “get out of here!” as opposed to trying to fight back, and fell on his own blade before we could get to him. The third story, we had just caught two Imperial Firebenders as _ someone _ jumped out the window. Our shields locked together before they could get a blast off. _ Nocked _ . Suki tackled one in the chest, causing the other to turn towards her and ignore the mob of fangirls slicing his arms and legs. The fans had no effect as he was wearing metal. He turned towards our mob and... _ thwick _ into the third, upper-central, hole. _ I may not know what angles are, but I know what a heavy draw weight on a bow can do. _

While Suki had fun punching the downed Imperial, I ran to the window to look out. Some young man with short black hair was running along a rooftop with two Imperial Firebender guards. They jumped from one rooftop to another, kicking small flame pillars to propel them over alleyways. Back inside, the Warriors cleared each room with a door-kick, but the top floors seemed empty. Men ran up the stairs wielding farm implements and were halted by my armor. A brave young man raised a flag from the rooftop while we investigated what appeared to be a command post. 

The second floor had a large map of the Lower City on the table. It was large enough to show every house, marked with a square. Thin black lines weaved through, around and in between these houses. Nothing was marked on the beach, despite the beach itself being full of spike traps. Instead, small circles and squares were drawn over the regular housing map. Sometimes they were inside a black square, sometimes they were in an alleyway. There was nothing to mark what these defenses were. Figures sat on the table. A clump of them, red, were located on either side of what is here marked as the Fire Lord Azulon Thoroughfare. A single figure, a sea raven, sat somewhere on the left flank of the Lower City, two lines in. More of these black lines ran across the city. In only a couple places, two on the right flank, one on the left and one on either side of the Thoroughfare, were the lines connected. Only one on the right flank ran all the way. Each of the other two on the right flank were separated by a city block. The other two were curved and joined with a North-South line. _ These are trenches _.

One of the Warriors called out “Your Majesty, we’ve found some letters up here regarding commands!” and I went up the staircase. _You mean you're not going to be vague and say "oh come look at this?" _They dropped the letters onto the center table. I picked up the topmost one and read it.

_General Mak _

_ We have received reports of fall of Beach Line. Reinforcements from Kazuhiro Line will arrive after sunrise. _

_ Not one step back. _

_ His Highness, the Shogun. _

Reading these letters, we put together a picture of the battle. Each trench appears to have its own name, with various lieutenants being given overall command of a trench. General Mak was given the “capable for someone of your reputation”, to quote the Shogun, task of holding the beach and first three sets of trenches. Each trench, judging from letters on “defensive preparations completed”, has its own set of barbed wire, spikes, pitfalls, and so on. The trenches also took into account an Earth Kingdom assault from the north. The three trenches were meant to provide overlapping defense. “From this map, we may figure organization from improvisation” I told Suki, sounding so wise for a man leading an army of militia. “All we have to do is take the long trenches”. But this was _ the enemy’s _ map. Not our information. Plus, there’s likely lots of improvised bunkers and every house can be its own small skirmish. What were we to do? It didn’t help that all men were encouraged to, “should the battle be going disfavorably”, choose “falling on one’s blade” instead of surrender. 

We must’ve missed the letter that mentioned what happened when the sun broke.

The Sunrise Counterassault:

For all the Fire Nation is resilient in their defense, going so far as to have overlapping defense in depth, we never faced countershelling in this tower. Looking out to sea, the Navy was still firing stones into the city. Shells came raining in from the North, too. They were mostly targeted at the main avenue and the Upper City. The volcano guarding the Royal Palace? A large hole was struck the rim of the volcano but didn’t blow a full hole through the side. It was enough of a hole that we could see the orange moon resting there. 

The defenders were running about _ somewhere _ beneath us. I’d hear people running but couldn’t tell who they were. As the sun was still low if barely present, the city was shrouded in darkness. A flame palm was a great marker for an enemy, assuming we had _ no _Colonials with us, but it was still a small target. Their artillery, whatever remained of it, could fire blindly towards the beach. Great bolts of steel would pierce moored cruisers, but what was the point? 

Going over to the beachside window, Suki and I’s face cast in that dim, dark red of a rising sun, we watched the beach and the events transpiring. All the men and the squadrons of tanks had already disembarked. The tanks formed rough attack groups and were shelling the shoreline housing. What was there to fire at? Most of the shore houses were _ already _ rubble. The one or two explosions were a nice blinding change of pace from the no-light battlefield. Looking over the ships, it was hard to do as their towers were at our height, we spotted more of ours coming to dock. As only four ships were on the shore, and I’m pretty certain eight ships of men and women were unloaded, that means our ships are coming and going to ferry men.

Timed to the sunrise, a mob of men wearing strange helmets appeared like black dots with orange fists on the far end of the beach. It must’ve been about a hundred figures in total, but they fought with the strength of ten thousand. From this distance, the black dots, invisible, engaged confused green dots. The left-most couple were taken down before they knew what was happening. Daos were swung around and pointed towards the right flank. Some black dots tried assaulting the beached ships, some took to chasing the tanks. The left two Squadrons of tanks joined the rout. “They’re not stupid” commented Suki, also watching this. From what I could tell, a beach-wide earth wall was raised about halfway down the beach. Spear-wielders got behind the walls and planted themselves. Suki offered a bet. “Ten gold the spears fail” “deal”. 

The black dots, at this point, actual humans, charged the earth wall. The first few were stopped with spear thrusts by well-timed spearwielders. The rest grabbed the walls with one hand and with the other propel themselves over with small fire jets. Once over, their double flame-fists worked _ better _ than the standard firebender. Unlike other firebenders, these soldiers never seemed to use ranged attacks. One example was a lead platoon of these raven-helmets pressing twice the number of ours against the cliff walls. Two earthbenders ripped boulders out of the cliffs and at the platoon, crushing two of theirs. Someone, maybe an officer, wasn’t dressed like one, pointed his _ hammer _ at the ravens and countercharged them. Spears and jis clashed with their fists. The raven-helmets could block most attacks, as was the case where one grabbed a ji, setting it alight, before punching the man in the face, but couldn’t deal with greater numbers. Four spearmen circled a single raven-helmet, he lunged at one and got hit from two other sides. 

A strange horn surpassed the near-and-distant screams and the raven-helmets _ retreated _ into the city. Suki watched one pointing at the sky to our northeast, and said “five silver pieces the aircraft are coming to ruin the fun” and sure enough, sticking my obviously-a-target-please-fill-me-with-fireballs head out the window, looking northeast, I spotted some twelve dots in three groups of four approaching. 

Pinned Down and Nowhere to Go:

The dots became aircraft, the aircraft flew low, too low, over the ships, before flying over the Lower City. Trying to beat them in vision, we crossed the third story in a few seconds to look west. Houses across the city lit up with anti-aircraft fire. Not fire-bolts, regular fireballs. The three groups took the left, center and right. They didn’t waste time with circling, no. The building shook as bomb after bomb fell. Some attacked the Upper City, one or two from each group would come back down towards us and everyone facing the windows collectively yelled “don’t bomb us, please!” before the Warriors grabbed me and ran for the staircase. I don’t know what they did or didn’t do as I was being shuffled down a staircase and about to get tossed out a window. All I knew was everything shake and someone’s teacup, no, set of teacups, was sent off its stand to shatter on the floor. 

Hearing the whirring disappear and the “if we hear more screaming than booms, it means we aren’t being shelled” _ thanks Sukes_, we returned to the third floor. Looking towards the rest of the city, a bunch of smoke plumes rose. Two from the main road, six from somewhere in the Upper City, four from the Lower City. One of those was a trench no more than a block from us. “Sukes, didn’t we have Earth forces holding that trench?” “Not anymore”. All the explosions, all the dead green figures on the beach, all the fireballs, the surprise attack... I had to go have a bit of a breakdown; _ where’s the troop communication? Where’s the officers? Who in the name of Toph is commanding this operation because it, as sure as Aang’s never going to satisfy Katara in the bedroom, it isn’t me. _“We’re going to be here a lot longer than the first time, aren’t we?” I said, trying to resist stabbing my second-in-command. Most people would offer a hug, or a kowtow, or something. Suki went “you’re probably right. This’ll be a long one. Let’s get some whiskey, girls!” And a cheer enveloped the room.

The first day, I specify day, was a slaughter. More waves of barely-trained militia arrived at the shores. After the first couple died to what we would find out were the Southern Raiders, the Shogun must’ve grown some sympathy because he stopped the countercharges. Our men took control of the beach and the _ first _inland trench. The first, if that map was accurate, of nine trenches crossing the city not counting the three cliff-facing ones. Beach was the first; Kazuhiro, named after Sozin’s ancestor and uniter of the Fire Islands was the second; Dragon was the third; Ozai the fourth and the boundary between Lower and Upper City; Azula the fifth; Azulon the sixth; Sozin was the seventh and the defenses for the volcano; Bujing -why not- was the eighth and defense of the Royal Palace Grounds, including the Palace and all government buildings and quarters; while Agni was the ninth and final one, a circular defense around the Fire Temple. 

I emerged from the tower and, along with the Kyoshi Warriors, surprised a group of Home Guard with a rear-assault while they were distracted with our militia. Suki got the first slice off, katana beats no armor, I got the second one, jian makes for great poking, and the other Girls formed a mobile shieldwall for us to cower, I mean take cover, behind. The Home Guard were pressed between spearmen and fangirls and were cut down. 

Meeting the ‘Commander’ of this group of militia, some guy named Noren, I got a line of communication open with the beachhead. Tyro was acting commander of the beachhead forces and was holed up in a house on the left flank. Runners were being sent back and forth as messenger hawks were being shot down. I learned that there was nothing we could do, go figure, because the Fire Nation hasn’t been bled dry yet. Using an in between runner who only took two fingers of time, Tyro and I agreed that “a methodical assault would be better”. Was Tyro a military commander? I have no idea. Does being a earthbender grant you mastery of combat? No. Where was Jee? “Jee took his _ Kyoshijima _and vanished” came the reply. Was Jee ever present? No. He was on a boat so close, only a couple hours by foot, but so far, over that ridgeline. Where was the Imperial Army? We have no idea. 

Just before the sun set on the first day, horns sounded from the Lower City. I was caught off-guard at the time, having gone down to the houses lining the shore to get an overview of the beach. The shouting got closer and Suki quietly commanded “get back to the tower, girls, form up!” and the Warriors formed a loose shieldwall facing the doorway. Their bucklers weren’t interlocked but they remained close enough to form a human wall. I looked out the shop window and down at the trench. 

“Bit of a problem, Suki, the trench’s jammed!” I whispered to her. The trench had a column of Domestic Forces between us and the tower. “Fine, we can work with this” she said with a pinch of optimism, and her eyes scanned the room for something to work with. “Why don’t we engage them?” one of the girls asked while maintaining stance. “I’d rather _ not _ let the Fire Nation know a valuable target of theirs is here” _ because my armor didn’t give it away, already _.

She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the beach side window. “Sorry I can’t carry you” and she gestured down at the sand. “Then what?” I muttered, trying to weigh staying or running. “This section of beach is secure” _ that’s not an answer _. I didn’t have a say in the matter. One, two, out the window. Here’s a tip to always follow: feet first. Lifting my face out of the sand, thanks for that push Suki, the beach was far from secure. 

“For Agni!” a loose band of Fire Nation militia had emerged to our left, their dao-wielding leader pointing at us while her improvised spear-wielding soldiers charged us. They all wore red headbands with black Fire Nation emblems in the middle. The rest of the Warriors were still inside. Suki and I drew our blades. _ Whoosh_. An arrow almost took out my right ear before Ozai’ing the lead spear-wielder. I backstepped, Suki matched my pace from the corner of her eye. _ Whoosh _ and the arrow stuck itself in the new leader’s leg, causing him to fall over and trip two of his allies. 

Suki and I went back-to-back by instinct and the mob quickly learned _ why _ back-to-back is so effective. The new leader tried poking Suki, she sliced his bamboo spear in two before “I’ve got to hand it to you” and removed one of his hands with a, compared to most, relaxed strike. The rest of the mob, as if they’ve never seen combat before, backed up a few paces while still threateningly gritting their teeth at us. “Come on, ten to two!” I quipped. “You’ve got a chance, you can do it!” Suki continued, before we both laughed. 

The mob of more than ten formed a semicircle with spears down in spearwall formation, neither moving forward or backing up. “I’m going to die of boredom- hey!” I was interrupted by an adventurous one jabbing his stick at me. Instead of stepping to the side, as I didn’t want Suki getting backstabbed, I parried the stick to the side with my blade’s tang before _ grabbing _ the stick and pulling the very much attached user forward with it. He fell over on his face, his leather helmet landing at my feet. I couldn’t get the stab in because his head was turned into a pastry by the foot of a man who introduced himself with a stomp and a belch. 

Said man stomped my foe into the sand before walking up to the spears I was facing and slicing them off with twin dao. Despite being individual weapons, in his hands, they moved as one. One sliced down while the other sliced up. One went for the leg while another went for an arm. One caught a knife using the top of the dao while the other cleaved the knife-wielder’s arm. The dual-wielder ended up surrounded by four men at one time. He blocked every thrust, forced the four of them to go on the defensive, then exploited their range disability to get inside spear range and hack one man to pieces. The other three stabbed at him, only to stab their ally for he used the back of one dao to spin around the man. He sliced two spear-tips off at the same time and slit two exposed throats with synchronized -outstretched- strikes. The last man backed towards my now empty side of the death-semicircle. So I took a few steps forward and planted my blade in his right leg, forcing him to kneel. My ally crossed his blades and sliced the fourth one’s head off, only for it to roll around on the sand.

He ran past me and over to a kind-of not-really overwhelmed Suki. She was facing more poking and resorted to swooping crane strikes to keep them on the backfoot. Our ally _ really _ put them on the backfoot when he lodged a dao in one man’s exposed head before a wide right swing removed the next’s _ quote not actually said _ “I rested on that” leg. The rest of the band formed a small circle of their own and now the three of us were on the offensive. “Get them, I’ll take the officer!” I yelled to the other two. “Make sure she learns some tips on getting ahead in life-” but the man’s as orchestral as a rusty blade voice was interrupted with this woman’s nasal screams of “The One-Eyed Badgermole”, _ glad she noticed the eyepatch. _ Despite all this, she still tried fighting jian with dao. It failed. Her blade struck mine giving us a loud _ ping _, I knocked her blade to the side before teaching her “a jian stabs, a dao cannot”. Young men yelling from behind me and the sounds of butcher’s work ended the battle.

Finally, the Kyoshi Warriors got the idea to jump out the window and joined us. The mysterious man wielding a red bow on his back and gold-and-red scabbard with two dragon-hilted dao? “Forgive me for being late, Your Majesty” he eyed me while cleaning one of his blades with cloth while the other rested planted in the sands. “General Song” I brought up my hands to bow to him. 

The mad old man showed us that he came ashore in a kayak he rowed here, _ on his own _ . “I had no idea if the beach was ours or not, so I brought my Yuyan Bow _ just in case _.” Somehow, I think this man could take the whole beach on his own. The Kyoshi Warriors claim they fought and killed a bunch of Domestic Forces and cleared the trench on their own, so we returned to the command post as opposed to remaining on an exposed beach.

I had the surrounding houses liberated for any food or drink. As the Fire Nation holds their pompousness above all, the low chairs that Generals sit in remained in Mak’s former room. Two were brought out for sitting on, whiskey was obtained courtesy someone’s shop, and served to us on an equally low table. It was poured into my whiskey flask and his. Amidst the sounds of shelling, Song and I toasted “to victory!” and drank up. The Kyoshi Warriors chanted “drink off! drink off! drink off!” and we raced one another. I won. Song lightly tapped the table and it broke in two. _ Old people _. “I’m honored, Your Majesty,” he smiled. 

I sent Song to take over from Captain, Lieutenant, whatever, Tyro. He agreed with the original “slow and careful” plan of trying to have on Line captured per day. We still relied on runners for communication as somehow, nobody had access to a messenger hawk. The four cruisers, having left shortly after dawn, returned at night bringing another couple thousand happy-to-die militia and...no tanks. We flagged down the cruisers and informed them of our situation. They informed us that the remaining IEN Western fleet of junks, a couple dozen of them, were transporting some fifty thousand men and women of the Imperial Army and would arrive “within a few days”. In Earth Kingdom terms, that could mean they were going to arrive anywhere from tomorrow -as they wouldn’t _ dare _be tardy in front of His Imperial Majesty- or next harvest season, in which it would be “that guy’s fault”. 

All our landed tanks were hiding inside -as in they parked in- houses. Our artillery continued shelling though the thunder of the Siege Cannon was nowhere to be found. Off the coasts, the ships had...run out of ammunition? And were firing stone shells at Caldera instead. 

I’m going to sleep in a room that, a day prior, a General of the Fire Nation slept in. He only has the one bed in his room so Suki and I have to squeeze for space. Good thing we know how to share a blanket. Also a good thing that it's so warm out a blanket isn’t needed. “Go to sleep, Your Majesty,” she beckons me to retreat to the beautiful slumber to try and escape the constant drumming of artillery.

I’m writing this entry in a completely different book that isn’t my usual one. 

Tomorrow, we’ll try to take the next Line. 

The drumming of artillery is...soothing. It won't be that soothing when we are engaging enemies beneath it but for now it's a few blocks away. So we're probably safe.


	62. Second Battle of Caldera - The Lower City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thousands of troops will die, but at least a few feet of ground was captured.

HIM Entry LXII:

Ten dead men is a lost platoon, ten thousand is an assault wave.

Kazuhiro Line:

_ Ow. Why am I on the floor _ . _ And why is the ground rumbling _ . “Get up, Your Majesty” _ Oh, thanks Sukes _ . I opened my eye to a stone ceiling with light rays pouring through the curtainless window and illuminating the tiny bed and accompanying small room. I got up and walked over to grab my pile of armor from the floor. “Couldn’t I have you executed for this?” I said still half-asleep. “No” Suki replied, hands on hips. _ Okay then. _ And she helped me into my Armor. “No, that’s _ my _ scabbard, you get the shorter one” and she plucked the long curved scabbard out of my hands. _ So that’s why this one felt funny. And nice. _“Are you sure I can’t use it?” “Can we get breakfast before playing measure-my-sword?” she said while sticking the closed fans into her waistband and heading out the door.

We went downstairs for breakfast. The Kyoshi Warriors were all up and about, mostly chattering -from what I could hear- gossip in their quarters. Suki used her outside voice to announce “Line up!” and they ran out. Lots of simple bowing -these were my bodyguards, not commoners- and “Good morning, Your Majesty” before Suki and I went to sit down at the large table on the second floor and...“what’s there to eat?” A pair of Warriors went running downstairs and we listened to a variety from the usual distant-bangs, the sounds of crashing pottery. They returned a few hundred finger-tapping-table taps later with news of “all we found was this” and they handed us a bowl of what appeared to be flat, tasteless, crackers. “Seriously?” Suki shot the duo a _ I'm-disappointed-in-your-ransacking _ glance. Hungry, I took one and chomped into it. “What in Her Imperial Majesty?” and everyone stared at me. “Are you...alright?” Suki offered a hand. “I’m fine, these just taste like...fire”. Suki and I ate crackers for breakfast and sadly could only down it with water because “we’re all out of whiskey, Your Majesty!” While Suki and I were finishing off the crackers, someone -from downstairs, or maybe outside- yelled “Report!”

I got out of my seat and the Warriors formed at my side. A young man bearing the garb of a nonbending soldier of the Imperial Army with a green headband came running up the steps and kowtowed. “His Highness, General of the Center” and Suki snatched the scroll from his hand. “Announce his wishes” I said while looking down at the kneeling young man. “It bears the Imperial Seal” she began, and my bodyguards kowtowed out of respect to a stamp. _Yes, I know. How funny_. “How wishes...a rapid assault...to take the Lower City-” Suki read off bits of it. “What!?” I yelled. “Assault?” “That’s what it says” she responded defensively. _ That’s...idiotic _and “that’s the ramblings of a detached man”. She nodded in agreement. “There’s more”.

She read on. “Her Imperial Majesty has ordered the Generals and Commanders participating to ‘race’ to Bujing.” I grabbed it from her hands. “Why would she do this?” Suki shot me a _ really? _ as if I should know this already. _ Because she’s Toph. Why wouldn’t she do this? _ I let the idea stir in my head, having already accepted a policy of being slow and bleeding the Fire Nation dry. _ Wait. All commanders. That could only mean- _“Messenger!” He sat up. “Yes, Your-” “Were we the only ones who received this?” “Forgive me, Your Majesty! His Highness had this scroll hand delivered to all ranked Colonel or higher!” 

We dismissed the messenger and I went upstairs, joined by Suki. I proceeded to throw curses then punches at a wall. The Kyoshi Warriors remained downstairs to guard. “Your Majesty, it may be wiser” Suki dodged a punch “to send runners to call off the assault” and another punch. “We both know I’m not going to do that”. I ceased my wall offensive and sat down on the bed. We took a few minutes to...speak in private...while _ our _ horns sounded off to the south. I didn’t pay them heed. I explained myself with chain of command. “If I step out of line, Song will step out of line. If he steps out of line, his lieutenants will do their own thing. By the time the private gets the commands, he probably deserted.” Suki asked “Can’t you reform the monarchy?” “Into what? Either the Queen has absolute power or she doesn’t. Her orders will _ always _ overstep mine-”, “But you represent her on the battlefield”. _ Thanks Sukes, but you’re missing the point_. The second wave of horns grabbed our attention. “The offensive-” she began, I finished, “it's a race, not an offensive-”. 

I went out the door and descended into the web of trenches. Horns waxed and waned, shells came flying over before descending into the Upper City and small, metal, jets, took to the skies far in the west. Militia squeezed into the walls of the trench to let me pass. The sand had turned to mud from all the marching. We walked along the trench until the sounds of fighting grew close. Most of the trenches follow a similar pattern: between houses, they are two men wide with built-in staircases to enter houses. When they reach what used to be a side street, they grow to be five men wide and slightly deeper. Every side-street trench had steep staircases built into either side of the trench. In our case, we had walked up to a former side street. A blob of militia were hugging the trench’s wall with one man in officer’s garb in the middle of the ‘street’. He unsheathed his dao and punched the air.

“Fourth Regiment of Weinan, onwards! For the Queen!” the officer yelled before galloping up the steps like a mountain goat-deer. The rest of the crowd cheered. In the distance, an elderly man yelled “For Agni!” Any hunter would affirm that a climbing mountain goat-deer is an easy target for an archer. He got out of the trench and _ twang_, he took a spear-length ballista bolt _ to the chest. _The rest of his soldiers climbed out and that’s when the suppressing fire blasts began. I wasn’t going to stick my head out of the trench, but I saw fire blasts passing overhead. Boulders crashed against buildings. It only took a few moments for the sounds of running to end and be replaced with metal clashing. We weren’t alone in the trench. A fragment of the mob that charged stayed behind, noticed me, and kowtowed.

I heard the _ brrrr _ of a biplane engine and so did everyone else. The militia looked up and yelled “The Air Corps are here! Go get ‘em!” One aircraft flew east-to-west following the street and banked left, vanishing behind houses. I heard the screech of a falling bomb and dived into the mud just in case. The ground shook but we didn’t see a smoke plume due to the location. Speaking of location, the houses located along the trench were blocked up with stone furniture. 

The sounds of metal striking metal ended and a cheer roared. Suki had the bright idea to climb out of the trench alongside one of the houses and peek out from inside. So I took the Kyoshi Warriors, we ascended using a blocked up alleyway as cover and climbed into the house through an alley side entrance. It stank of rotten food. It was quite dark inside, so we stuck to the side where thin arrows of sunlight penetrated through overturned furniture. Suki lead the way, tapping each piece of furniture, yelled “table coming down!”, the rest of us backed up, and a loud _ crash _ exposed the light to us. Suki stuck her head out and “there’s an Earth Kingdom flag on a spear waving back and forth”. We let out sighs of relief. 

Now _ I _ looked out the window. The ground was littered with still smoldering bodies and thrice as many charred ones. I’m surprised these men were even able to climb over the field of bodies. I barked “soldiers, what’s the situation?” One man, dressed in peasant garb, stuck his head out of the trench, spotted my eyepatch, or maybe the blue Imperial Armor, and went wide-eyed. “We’ve...captured the trench...Your Majesty!” and I _ think _ he fainted. Other heads popped out like singing groundhogs. “Casualties?” I eyed the one man there with a silver-pinned topknot. “Form up!” he responded, looking at the other sets of eyes. They got back into the trench. “There’s two, four, eight, twelve, sixteen here, Your Majesty!” “Sixteen out of?” “I don’t know, Your Majesty. I’m just a private!” A different voice, same uplander accent, joined in. “I think we started with fifty, or a hundred”. 

“For Agni!”, followed by a line of red charging was all I could see before Suki grabbed me and pulled me back inside. A fire blast, then five more, lapped at the window hole. The uplanders responded with “spears!” and all noise ceased. A few seconds of silence were interrupted with accented cries. I broke free of Suki’s grasp for long enough to spot the large band of _ boys and girls _ jump into the trench. These young school age students had small fire blasts but made up for it with agility. Suki tackled me and the Kyoshi Warriors physically held me down. The old folktale from the Fire Nation speaks of young dragons, when cornered, fighting with ‘a neverending fury’. An uplander’s gravelly call of “not one step back!” was the last we heard of any of them. 

We circled back around to the alley and got back in the muddy -muddy sand- trench. The few survivors in our line wept “the Earth Kingdom flag fell!” but, nonetheless, kowtowed when I returned. “What do we do, Your Majesty? There’s only a couple of us and charging would be-” The grinding sound of sand being pummeled by the treads of a _ Liberator _ gave us all the first answer. A _ bang _ and a brick-sized stone was the second. It collided with _ something _ , maybe nothing, in the trench across from us. We cheered and parted ways while two men jumped into our trench, hands ready to summon boulders. They noticed me and kowtowed while the grinding came to a halt. I gestured a _ let’s go already _ and backed up. The two stomped the ground and formed a sandy wall. Turning towards it, they condensed it into sandstone. They then pillared themselves out of the trench and the tank resumed its grinding. Off in the other trench, someone who couldn’t be more than my age yelled “For the Shogun!” and _ bang_, another stone shell. This one silenced him.

The _ Liberator _ crossed the stone wall with the two earthbenders walking behind it. “For the Earth Queen!” They stomped the sandstone wall into the grounds whence it came. “So, Your Majesty, do we charge?” one woman said while poking the sky with her spear. The arrival of a mob of ji-wielders gave us our answer. _ Bang_. Their leader was another man in the garb of an Imperial Army Lieutenant. This band had many more flags, attached to spears. “His Imperial Majesty!” he got on his knees. The rest of his band performed a commoner’s kowtow. I gestured in the direction of the _ bang _and the leader applauded himself and ran out of the trench, dao in hand. “Onwards!” the cacophony of soft-spoken heartlanders chanted. They sounded like they were from Gaolan or any of those regions stuck between the Si Wong, the Great Divide and the Lakes. Suki grabbed my shoulder before I could join them in the charge. “And if they end up like the last band-” so I turned to her and grabbed hers. “I’m not letting them” and I began for the trench stairs. 

“Girls, grab my cousin!” I heard her yell and suddenly my mind was fargone from the cries of various accents, the stench of smoke and burning things, and back on Kyoshi Island. The cries of seagulls, the smell of morning dew on grass and of trees. As I wasn’t a fan of going to martial classes, Suki would go “Girls, grab my brother!” and dispatch her forces to find me and drag me to said classes. I know she used to say this because oftentimes I’d hide in the loft _ above _ the dojo. That is, until one time when Suki plucked a single auburn hair out of the dojo room -the morning sunlight was in _ just the right place _ to see the glint of red hair- and looked up. The rest of them looked up and I let out a sole _ I’m-not-guilty _ pretend laugh. Suki, ever the leader, went “okay, this is perfect for a lesson. Girls, get up there and retrieve him!” and they, in sync, bowed. Of my own volition, I crawled over to the loft and lied down so they would have a slightly easier time. Then I got thrown into sparring with Suki, only to be tossed, face first, onto a mat. 

A slap in the face brought me back to reality. I looked up at the _ stone ceiling _ and there was a painting of the Fire Lord staring back at my from past my feet. “Don’t tell me I got captured” and I was greeted by Suki’s smirk. She asked if I recalled what happened, of course I didn’t. So I had some kind of freeze, fell backwards, and the Kyoshi Warriors caught and carried me back to the tower. As for the assault, “last time I was there, we succeeded”. Judging by the sun, it was about lunchtime. I asked about lunch and was tossed jerky. “Its chicken jerky” _ thanks Aoma, wait maybe you're Sai. I forgot_.

We spent the rest of the day trying to obtain whatever information we could. Runners were instructed, whenever we find them, to report to us. “We’ve captured the Kazuhiro Line”, “We’ve lost the Kazuhiro Line”, “We have a foothold on the Dragon Line” and so on. 

Once during the day, a runner came from How’s lines. The cliffs around us are actually covered in bunkers and defensive works. Our Artillery Corps is being harassed by “a breakout attempt” comprising of platoon-sized groups. _Oh, how intimidating_. Flame Darts were taking off from the volcano and trying to crash themselves into our defenses, only to get plucked out of the sky by earth pillars and one young woman clenching her fist and making them turn to coffins. Our forces weren't going to give ground, but they also might not hold it if we don't get rid of Bujing. So we aren't alone. The lands around us are _also _having a mass offensive. We're just in the literal middle of it. The runner was interrupted by the thundering earthquake of the Imperial Siege Cannon firing. Looking out towards the volcano, I watched a small black dot explode and rain smaller grey dots down upon the Upper City. 

By sundown, the artillery still fired stone shells randomly into the Upper City, the Imperial Siege Cannon continued its ‘stone rain’, and General Song reported -in person- that he had men as far West as the Ozai Line. We had tea over such conversation. The Main Avenue remained untouched and mostly ignored, in the hopes that “if we harass their flanks, they will pull forces back” and give us an opening to attack. My right flank was only capable of capturing the Kazuhiro Line. Song reported that he faced “explosive traps” once his men reached the Ozai Line. He was unable to elaborate as nobody has yet to survive one of them. _Bujing, you clever old man. If you can't have the city, none of us can_.

Song and I weren’t going to disobey orders. Despite this, we will continue our assault through the night and into the next day. “If we have half our forces sleep while the other half prods, the defenders will never be able to rest”. _ And that’s why you’re the future Head of the Council. _He departed after playing and winning a single round of Pai Sho. I went to sleep shortly thereafter. The Warriors had carried a bed up from the second story for Suki to sleep on, but she still chose to sleep in my room with me “as there’s never enough protection”. 

The Dragon Line: 

I woke up the next day to the news of the Dragon Line being harassed all night by assaults. Did we hold it? No. Were we on the cusp of holding it? Yes. I took the Kyoshi Warriors and set off for the Kazuhiro Line. I took a right instead of a left and found a different side-street. At sometime overnight, whether by command or independant decision is unknown, earthbenders made a trench that connected the Beach and Kazuhiro Lines. Walking through the trench, I thought back to how hundreds of people died to capture a defense one city-block in length. Not that such thoughts mattered, we had another six to take. 

Like last time, I arrived just as a large force of soldiers were massing for a charge. A few of them noticed me and chanted of my approach, the mob kowtowed, and the officer asked for orders. “Charge, of course!” and he cheered. “Onwards!” a horn sounded, and he led the way out of the trench. “Are you going to stop me this time?” I turned to Suki. “No” and Suki snapped open her shield. “I’d like to have some fun” and she ran out with the mass of peasants, many of whom smelled of whiskey. I drew my jian and followed her and the rest of the girls followed me.

It was only a couple hundred feet. Might as well have a couple thousand. The lead officer didn’t eat a ballista, no, he ate a bomb. I couldn’t see what happened to him as I was stuck in the middle of a stampede. A “for the Earth Queen!” stampede of spearshakers and whiskey makers. We were like a tidal wave of green. The first few lines were certainly going to die, the next few would take their place, and by the time my feet had reached the edge of the trench, the battle was already over. “Spread out!” I ordered as I jumped in. Peeking out, a low metal wall blocked up the side-street the next corner over. 

I went towards the near cliffs, accompanied by my bodyguards. Much of the trench was strangely empty. Reaching the next street, I had arrived too late. The militia were in the process of spearing anyone who disagreed. “Orders, Your Majesty?” “Hold the line! Not one step back!” and they chanted “the One-Eyed Badgermole!”. I walked out of earshot from the cheering mob. The fire of the fight fueled mad thinking. “Girls, is anyone up for a secret operation?” and I received unanimous “Yup”s and a “I hope this idea doesn’t call for something insane.” from Suki. “Suki, let’s assassinate Bujing” and I heard her groan even while everyone else cheered. “Of course that’s your idea.” 

It wasn’t the craziest idea I had this week. All we had to do was follow the cliffs like we did last time we were here, then sneak into the Royal Palace grounds and find Bujing and kill him. “A platoon of Kyoshi Warriors? Wouldn’t that be, you know, too many, for a stealth mission?” one of the girls asked. Suki leaned against the wall to think. “No” she said in a reassuring tone. “He’s crazy but he’s right, but-” the girls interrupted her with cheers of “So we get to finish the war?” “Probably” one of the girls mused. “you were saying ‘but’?” I redirected the conversation. “But we can’t do it now.” and she went on to point out that it’d be better done at night and we’d need to either find a route that doesn’t involve artillery or somehow call it off. 

The Main Avenue:

A much more sensible, less whiskey-induced idea, was to capture the Main Avenue. The Fire Nation still held it and could still launch assaults from it. Could we make a plan of assault? Not really, we still had no communication with most of the army. So I went back down to the beach and crossed over to find Song. I’d ask every kowtowing soldier and they’d all point me in random directions. So I did what Toph would do if she wanted to find me, I thought “where would he be” and concluded “on the front lines”. 

I passed through trenches, going deeper and deeper into the city, before coming upon a skirmish. Along one of these side streets, our trench was under assault a company of Home Guard. Suki and the girls formed a lion-turtle formation to protect me but “I’m _ bored_” I claimed, and I drew my blade. “Fine” I sensed Suki rolling her eyes, “Girls, you know what to do!” and she unsheathed her katana. Katana plus shield is a deadly combination.

The Home Guard is like the Earth Kingdom militia, mostly nonbenders if not entirely nonbenders, armed poorly and zealously loyal towards their Monarch/deity. I ended up standing behind a wall of jis which posed a _great_ threat to the assailants. We were in a boarqpine formation stretching from one corner to the other. Jis pointing ahead and upwards at various heights akin to a boarqpines quills. Our opponents were armed with even less. They’d descend into the trench, but we were positioned such that they were hemmed between the sand wall and our ji wall. We killed wave after wave. One woman was waving her jian around above the trench, casting her shadow on me. She looked down at the lost cause, frantically trying to come up with a solution for a problem.

“Pull back! Back to the trench! Pull back! Back to-” she took an arrow to the face, her sword fell from her hand, both hands barely had time to reach up and grab herself before collapsing into the ‘kill zone’ and onto a retreating man. This last wave, ten figures remained, routed. One got pinned in the back of the neck with an arrow while he climbed up the stairs. The one next to him took an arrow to the back of the chest. A different one, further over, took an arrow to the shin. “Countercharge!” a distinct elderly voice barked from behind us. “Onwards!” the lowlanders howled. Turning around, General Song made himself visible from a first-floor window. I looked up at him, he looked down at me with a smile. His eyes stopped smiling and he nocked an arrow and _ thwick _ before I could open my eyes from a blink. “Pardon me, Your Majesty,” he said while climbing out the window before slowly descending into the trench, bringing his hands up for a bow and retrieving his arrows from his foes. “Would Your Majesty like to join the charge?” he asked while plucking an arrow out. He and I were interrupted by sets of tsungi horns going off in sequence. Our eyes turned towards the beach. “Reinforcements?” one of the women asked. The horns sounded again. “Reinforcements” Song breathed a sigh of relief. “Your Majesty...probably needs to attend to that. May Her Imperial Majesty protect you!” he said before bowing, climbing out of the trench, and honing in on a target. _Thwick_. 

When I read the stories of Crown Prince Iroh, I imagine a man much like Song. Ruthless. Strategic. Charismatic. A pinch of madness.

I ran back through the trenches. Going towards the beach is much easier as the sand gets muddier before turning to water and it's hard to lose one’s orientation when the beach was still close. Our band reached the beach and encountered the bow of a cruiser as tanks rolled off. Sitting atop the lead tank was a man with a long, Toph-lengthed, silhouetted weapon. He noticed us before we noticed him. “Your Majesty!” he jumped out of the shadows and kowtowed. General Fong rose and clutched his _warhammer_ with both hands. I walked over to him and greeted him. “The Imperial Commander of the South is always welcome on any front” and I bowed to him. He laughed. “What is the Butcher of Si Wong doing here so early?” he laughed at “the new title”. “I’ve got a city to capture and a race to win”. _ Of course that’s why he’s here. _

While the sun turned the near cliff base dark, he organized his tanks. By the time the city was cast inside long shadows, save for the far cliffs, he was ready to move out. Other generals stay at the back of their lines to plan. Earthbending generals can fire people-sized boulders from a different district. The Main Avenue east of the Beach Line was ours, beyond that an earth wall was erected. 

Did Fong stay at the back? No, of course not. Fong and his gigantic warhammer love battle. He claims his warhammer is "sad" when it's not caving chests in. And I can get behind someone like that. Mostly because I'd rather not disagree with a man holding a staff with a big hammer on it. It's said that before he was a soldier, he was a blacksmith. A hammer-wielding blacksmith. "I made metal sing, now I make the enemies sing". So, no, a _dao _is not something he likes carrying. A weapon with all the agility of a spear? Sure, why not.

He took his warhammer and walked _ in front _ of the tank column. A small column, company-sized, of Imperial Army earthbenders joined him at the front. The tank column was four wide and comprising all thirty-two vehicles deployed over the past few days, including eight tanks he came in on. Suki and I joined him at the front and instructed the Kyoshi Warriors to disperse and wait to strike until later for obvious rock pummeling reasons. Song lived to be as old as Iroh because he’s smart. Fong lived to be as old as Ozai because _ crash_, Fong smashed the earth wall in two pieces. “Charge!” he yelled. 

Fong ran ahead of us while the ballistas chose to target the vehicles behind us. One of the leads took an explosive bolt to the chassis while the other three fired off stone shells. Ahead of us, a set of bunkers and lines of trenches extending as far as the volcano, so close yet so far. Fong crossed the distance with an earth wave, “grab us” I yelled to our allies, who nodded and helped us ride earth waves of their own over to the first trench. Out of nowhere, a large number of Home Guard, easily twice our size, emerged from behind the corners. Does Fong use reason and deduce to pummel them with rocks? No, this is Her Imperial Majesty’s Imperial Army. "Earth is defensive", maybe when people who _aren't _Fong are commanding. 

Fong stomped the ground, launching himself into the air. He crushed one defender’s face with the warhammer as he came down from the skies. He landed in the middle of their formation. His hammer's shockwave sent the troops around him flying. “Go Fong! Onwards!” the men carrying us applauded him. The Home Guard became like the tides. They gave him a large circle while he swung his warhammer around his head and whooped. And like the tides, they returned as one group. Not that he cared. The weapon found many a meaty target to tenderize. _ Smash. Crush._ He'd bang his chest and taunt "you cowardly ash-makers!" while waving his weapon around. “I don’t want to miss out!” Suki wailed drawing her blade. 

Some earthbenders picked up small boulders and launched them. Others drew their single dao and used it for earthbending. I don’t have such wonderful privileges so I stabbed some unlucky bastard in the back of his chest. His armor blocked the stab, making for an awkward situation. Suki saved the following “Sorry about missing” conversation with a _ slice _ and no more head to address. _ Good thing she swiped right-to-left, not left-to-right, or I’d be missing my head too_.

Our forces spread in all directions to clear out the fire blasts striking them -but doing no effect due to armor- and defensive bunkers. “Did you get yourself encircled again, Sukes?” I yelled after poking a man in the right spot this time, looking over his falling body and spotted a trapped Suki. “No, I’m fine!” she said sounding far from fine and more like ‘I’m not fine’. Along with a couple others, I went to relieve her. Daos and earth boulders crashed against daggers and nothing. I pulled off a man’s helmet, grabbed his topknot, “hold still” and _ slice_. See, Suki, two can play at this game. 

I was wrong, because of course I was. She was having no trouble. At one point eight soldiers charged her from all angles. Fong may be a brutish hammerer but she’s an elegant dancer. The katana swirled around and all eight lost their heads _in a single_ _flurry_. “I’m at fifteen” she yelled. “I’m only at four!” I responded. _ I guess it's on_.

“Come out here, Lieutenant Coward! Come out and die like a man!” Fong yelled while the _four_ survivors of the attack ran back towards the volcano. He proceeded up to a defensive bunker, tapped twice and broke the door with a swing. “Come out and die” he ran in. Screaming occured. Someone was dragged out by his topknot. A man dressed like a Lieutenant. “Get up and die. Do it with honor!” and he backed away from the cowering lieutenant. “Would you rather surrender?” I offered. I’m fine with people surrendering if they do it honorably. He surprised us all with a spinning kick, sending a fire wave outwards. _ Nope_. Suki grabbed my jian from my hands -thanks for saving me- and tossed it into him. It stuck. “Good shot, Sukes...wait-” “Yup, sixteen”. 

Fong took his hammer and rode a wave down the road. Again, soldiers helped us pursue him. Arriving at this set of bunkers, we found nothing. “Why is it empty?” Suki asked, looking around. “Men, clear the houses and defenses!” and pairs of soldiers went into each house. I didn’t see what happened next, but the earth shook violently and Suki tackled me to the ground. “My men....” Fong cursed the sky, got on his knees, and brought his hands to prayer. Thankfully for him, most of his men emerged from their houses fine. Both bunkers were smoke clouds, ascending to the sky. It took us a few glances to put the pieces together. The bunkers were booby-trapped with some kind of plantable explosive. “That’s why it's empty” I finished an earlier sentence. 

The metal walls? The bunkers? Heavily fortified position? This was the Ozai Line. The Imperial Army formed earth walls while my bodyguards regrouped and we chose to sleep in a cleared, cleared again, and cleared one more time by my bodyguards, house located just to the east of the booby-trapped bunkers. 

A Temporary Halt:

The right flank was still in unorganized disarray. Song had enough trouble keeping raving bands of militia who were motivated to frontally charge back from charging and Fong. Fong cared about frontal charges but was responsible for the Main Avenue. The three of us met up for dinner at Fong’s earth tent. Runners could now reasonably communicate between the lines.

The problem with Caldera was we simply didn’t have enough troops to station an adequate number in each house. Individuals and in the case of the right flank, entire platoons, could sneak through the city. They had the home turf. They knew every alleyway, every piece of roof that can be jumped over. Our officers might have intelligence, or the high command might, but the regular soldiers definitely don’t. By comparison, the Fire Nation may lack military hardware but they’ll always know the city better than we could. 

We have a few options: Halt and wait for reinforcements, but with the high risk of being pressed back into the sea. Charge forward on one flank and try to hold the others, but we’d risk guerillas. Or throw everything we’ve got at them. “Let us sleep now, think the options through, and convene tomorrow”. 

_Of course we're going to throw everything at them. Kingdom of Defense? Said who? I need to promote them for intelligence._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, The Earth Kingdom tightens the noose!  
What's going on with Han? Is Toph really ordering this race? Where is Toph? Where is anyone?
> 
> Also, poor Consort. He's stuck between trying to be rational and knowing full well that if he goes against anything Toph says, the entire Kingdom could collapse.
> 
> The whole "race to the Palace" is inspired by Stalin ordering his two top generals to race to Berlin, regardless of the losses. The Earth Kingdom is what happens when the Soviet Union and the Qing Dynasty have a baby.


	63. Second Battle of Caldera - The Upper City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Imperial Army engages in house-to-house fighting with the defenders of the Upper City.

HIM Entry LXIII:

Toss people at problems. Throw enough people at _anything_ and you might actually kill it.

Breaking Through:

The morning began like any other; Suki and I woke up and followed the same routine. Just as during previous mornings, we had breakfast comprising of the oh-so-fulfilling crackers and tea. As Suki commented “Somehow worse than rice and more rice courtesy of the Fire Navy, not as good as dessert for breakfast”. All the while, I looked over the map General Mak left behind, mentally trying to draw lines of the offensive. The nightly reports -as given to me by Suki’s second-in-command- were as usual; platoons of Home Guard trying to infiltrate and being checked by our earthworks. One captured soldier wept of trying to flee to “the lands of Prince Zuko” and was honorably imprisoned. We were finishing breakfast when a messenger dressed in Imperial Army garb came running. “Report!” his voice woke up the roosting seagulls. 

“I bring Her Imperial Majesty’s wishes!” and my bodyguards kowtowed. “Of course, I am Her Majesty’s servant” and I bowed. “If this is another race-” _ you stole the words from my mouth, Sukes _. “Her Imperial Majesty, long may she reign, is offering estates totaling the size of Lake Laogai to the first officer to drape the Imperial flag upon the central spire of the Royal Palace. Her Imperial Majesty expects the head of Bujing by the half-moon” and he bowed. We dismissed him and Suki and I went back to our room to avoid killing him.

We were both pretty angry. Suki and I spoke back and forth. “Since when has Her Imperial Majesty offered estates to anyone?” she asked “She’s not. This is the work of Han" I stated what had been running through my head for days. “What does he have to gain from this? He’s a minister” she went to apply her war makeup. I sat down on the bed and looked over to the window “He’s the Grand Secretariat, not a minister. A minister can’t wield the Imperial Seal.” “Say you’re right" she asked, "what’s his goal?” _ He told everyone different stories. To me, it was the threat of an angry Dragon-riding Crown Prince here to claim his birthright. To Toph and the Imperial Army, it was the desire to charge. _“He wants power.” 

Or...the alternative. "Or...he wants us dead." such a controversial claim earned her surprise. "Why?" "Why not?" I said as if it was obvious. "But why us?" It wasn't obvious. "If he gets us killed in some offensive, there goes all of..." _forget the_ _formalities, _"Toph's loyal allies. You, I, maybe Captain Wuhan, are the only people who Toph would listen to." and Suki, being quite wise, finished the thought. "And if he gets rid of us, he has all the power." _Exactly. _"So, Your Majesty, do you want us to kill him? The Kyoshi Warriors love nothing more than bringing the swift hand of justice-" "All twenty of us. We still have a war to fight. If any of you kill him, you'll be tried as...well now that I say it, you'll be executed on the spot. I'll do it." "And you..._won't_...be executed?" "No, no. The only way to do this without earning the rock glove end of a pair of Dai Li is the _legal _way." "A legal execution?" "No, the Earth Kingdom's time-honored tradition of waiting for an opportunity. Then grabbing it by the throat and tossing it off the highest parapets of the Outer Wall".

Yet again, our talks didn't matter. All our discussing meant nothing as we still have a Siege to try and win. We agreed to wait until we returned to Ba Sing Se to elaborate on future plans. Back to this conflict... I may have overall command of the Imperial Army, but in terms of practical communication, I only had a platoon of Kyoshi Warriors. The tsungi horns sounding across the city as the sun brought light to eastern windows, the stirring of green ants from their sandy tents on the beach, the distant chorus of artillery, the smoke plumes in the middle of the city… our hand was forced. 

“So, Your Majesty, what is your plan?” Suki asked while across from me at the map table. “Find Fong or Song, implore them to send reinforcements to the right flank and hold out until somebody captures the city. I own countless palaces and have only lived in two of them, I have no need of another”. “And what if you don’t find them? They could be anywhere.” she asked. “I’ll find them”. “Fong would be leading from the front” she stated “We don’t know that for sure” I skeptically countered. She was right. 

“Here, eat this!” and the spike side of the warhammer met the face side of a spear wielding civilian. “His Imperial Majesty has arrived!” they called out, causing the warhammer-wielding, blood-stained, needs-a-shower Fong to turn. He bowed. “What is Your Majesty doing this far west?” “What are _ you _ doing this far west? Your reports said you were encamped at the Ozai Line. Weren’t we going to convene?” “We were, then Her Imperial Majesty’s words-” I raised my hand. “It's too late. The spear has been extended, now we must thrust it to its target.” Fong lacked any form of map and was following the main road. We met in a fresh earth tent. Fong’s strategy was to charge towards the volcano. “I’ve met little resistance,” he exclaimed. After passing the entrance to the Upper City, he encountered a couple fleeing platoons. “So the plan is to continue charging?” “Yes”. “Can I request that you halt?” “Your Majesty guides my actions” _ Oh, how flowery _. “Then halt”. “Right away, Your Majesty” he bowed and opened the tent to dispatch orders.

Now we had to find Song. I have the honor of a full military escort and followed the one piece of land we knew was ours back to the temporary gate of the Upper City. It was only then that I noticed the artillery shelling that normally gave a background beat to the orchestra of war was silent. Putting my ear to the paved stone, I heard no distant bangs. No grey shells rained upon Caldera. _But why? _We wound our way through the beachside trenchworks then followed the trench running west along the northern side of the city. Each side street had some ten soldiers, resting on benches with jis or daos in hand, who’d rise to bow when I passed, but that was it. Officers were nowhere to be seen. Song found us, emerging from a heavily guarded house where he was having tea prior to being told of my arrival. 

“I was about to move out, but needed my midmorning tea first”. _ So we have one man charging, one man about to, and one man not even supervising his flank _ . “General Fong is over there” and I pointed at the collection of smoke plumes to our northwest. His voice changed from old, happy, Iroh-like, to “I’m not letting that head-first man take the crown jewel from me!”, he bowed to me and walked down the stairs to call. _Not you, too._ “Attention! All officers come for orders!” Messengers repeated the calls and they vanished down alleys. 

A few minutes later, fourteen men in officer garb arrived. He assigned five thousand men, half of his total, to lead the vanguard. “Break through anything they’ve got and report back once you reach the Azulon Line!” Normally, the vanguard is a fraction of the forces, but as “I want that prize”, its larger. I never would’ve expected the old Song to chase glory, but the Royal Palace _ is _the ultimate prize. Nothing in Earth Kingdom history could compare to holding the Fire Lord’s head -Bujing doesn’t control enough land to deserve the honor- or being the man to hang the flag from the Royal Palace.

I ordered the Kyoshi Warriors to “return to my tower and hold it”. Suki agreed as “we need that tower to be kept in our control” and while a platoon of young women doesn’t sound like a lot, “I’d gladly take one of you girls over a hundred militia” which they bowed all formally -and threw in some grins- and marched off. “And now you get your thousand militia, may they prove your words wrong” _ Thanks Sukes _.

Our assault can be compared to a speartip. The lead elements were commanded by one of Song’s officers. He was exactly one city block length wise behind the lead. We were half a city block behind him. If it wasn’t for all the demolished houses, we might’ve been able to _ see _the flanks one block away. 

The Upper City’s Challenges:

I write of our speartip like it was a pitched battle. It wasn’t. Whatever Fong _ wasn’t _ fighting, we fought tenfold. The Ozai Line was still within sight when the bannerman to the left of Song took a fireblast to the face. Suki opened her shield with one hand while pushing me to the ground with another. A circle of soldiers formed a human wall around me. Song already has his Yuyan bow in hand and loosed an arrow into one of the second story windows of the structure to our left. A body fell against the windowsill and went limp, the head and arms dangling out the side. 

I caught glances, from between the legs of soldiers in stance, of those ahead of us coming under fire from the windows. “Spread out, clear every house!” Song barked while stringing another arrow. I got up and followed one set of five into the house the first assailant hid in. The house was as dark as nighttime, and lots of pottery was smashed in the name of clearing a path to walk on. One man was hit in the face with a flash of light, the two behind him stabbed the phantom attacker. Two others ran upstairs. Shouting, some slicing, and “cleared!” from a western Earth Kingdom accent. 

By the time we got back outside, the street was empty. There were corpses of burning soldiers, or those struck with arrows, and to cap it all off Song was across from us. I pointed to the defenses, as I thought it’d be better to pull back, regroup and plan again, and he nodded. “Repeat this command, all fall back to Ozai Line!” he yelled, attracting more fire blasts from windows above me but out of my line of sight due to a covered entrance. He dodged them while countering with two arrows of his own. 

The call for retreat was repeated and a green torrent ran back over their fallen brothers and sisters towards the defensive line. Some turned and fired back with small boulders or crossbows. Song plucked arrows from the sands and held four in his firing hand as he joined the rout. Suki and I got caught up in it but apparently my presence was enough to inspire “turn and fight, fight for His Imperial Majesty” even if His Imperial Majesty was running like a frightened cat-deer. I still don't call it a defeat. One skirmish might fail but what's a war without a few blunders?

The calls of “die, die for His Imperial Majesty!” from soldiers as I passed was enough to turn this rout into a frontal assault. We reached the Ozai Line, out of breath, and save a couple bands and Song, everyone else was running back down the street we just came from. “What’s...the...plan, Song?” somehow that elderly man has more endurance than I. Just goes to show, don’t run across a city without eating lunch. “Our men are sitting turtle-ducks” he said while ‘our men’ were stabbing, launching boulders at, and in the case of one mad man, _ pulling out of the window, _defenders. 

That last guy? He was wearing earth gloves, suggesting a brother or father in the Dai Li. While others were being set alight, he climbed up a wall. The figure firing out of the window didn’t notice him, _ and who would? _ so he waited for them to reappear to launch a fireball. He was _ just _ beneath the window, hanging from one hand planted to the wall. When the person reappeared, his right glove gripped the throat and he pulled the defender out the window and tossed them headfirst into the ground two stories beneath him. Suki and I were watching the same event and conversed quietly while walking to Song’s house. “If there’s ever a time for a neck massage, I’d say that would be a good time” Suki commented. “Good thing you aren’t the Earth Queen, or you’d probably be inspired to _ have _ one now”. Suki smirked. “Of course, and she gets to command _ you _to give her one. How are you able to massage anything when you missed the chi classes?” and she grabbed one of my calloused hands and poked one of the knuckles. So I clenched my fist. “Her Imperial Majesty likes hammerfists” “Of course she does,” she said, expecting nothing different. “Sokka likes soft skin, doesn’t he” I was more than happy to counter her questions with my own. She smiled. “Why, of course he does.” she said with a pinch of self-conscious vanity and ran her hand along her cheek for good measure. “Great, because I’ve tenderized steaks that were softer than Her Imperial Majesty’s hands, feet, knees and elbows.” and we laughed. It's all in good fun.

Sokka, Prince of the Earth Kingdom, sounds great _ and will never happen _ . Not that he’d ever his permafrost tundra for a life on Kyoshi Island or Ba Sing Se. If he ever would, I'd be the first one to welcome yet another nonbender into our Palace of master earthbenders. We could even practice blades together. He's already Prince of whatever Chiefdom his father runs. So insignificant it barely appears on a map. I for one support Suki's claim to apprehending him and forming the world's largest marriage-pact in history. Toph's from Gaoling and is about as Earth Kingdom as one could get. _For in the Earth Kingdom, even the young women will beat you up_. I'm from Kyoshi Island and of the line of Kyoshi. Suki's my cousin and shares all the same ancestral qualities. Sokka is from the Southern Water Tribe. One day, he'll probably be the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, because of his sister. Or rather, _her _boyfriend. The Avatar. Who's voice still carries respect in the lands that he hadn't abandoned.

Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe and Air Nomad. Two people who are descendants of the Avatar and the current incumbent. One Earth Queen, one Chief of the South, one Avatar. This isn't a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, no, no. This is _once in history_. Back to the current conflict, Song's forces were charging down the street. Like idiots.

Flags were waved, men and women cheered, and an earth wall was raised on the distant street corner. The street was cleared, with only one detonating and collapsing in on itself. Song summoned all officers to his house half a block east and we joined them. I sat down next to Song, his officers remained standing facing the two of us. We had to do something about the fighting, so we spent the entire afternoon thinking.

We had a bunch of problems to deal with. The Upper City, architecturally, is very different from the Lower City. Apartment buildings are packed next to each other with few to no alleyways. Instead of sloped roofs, almost all of the structures are flat-topped. No building is lower than three stories with some reaching as high as five or six. The constant artillery bombardments have reduced entire blocks to rubble. The windows are small and most of the buildings are pitch black. As we’ve learned from Osaka, every piece of rubble acts as its own defensive position. In total, every building might as well be its own fortress. With defenders who know their own city, we’re walking into a deathtrap. And we don’t have enough experienced earthbenders to demolish the city block-by-block. There’s also still the trenches to contend with. And Her Imperial Majesty is pushing us onwards in a race. So what do we do?

Slowly advance up the streets. “But wouldn’t the firebenders see an empty street and realize what we are doing?” one of the officers asked. “Of course they would” Song began while pointing out the window at the tall structures. He twisted his hand, pointed further left, then scooped around. “But we’d eliminate their cover”.

The plan was as follows: Our force of thousands would be divided into platoons. We’d assault the left flank of the Upper City in multiple waves with the objective being “one block at a time”. Once a block is cleared, a few platoons would be left behind to scour for pockets and hold against retaliatory strikes. Each building was viewed as multiple ‘battlefields’. The street level, the second story, the third story, an attic or loft, and the roof. Some platoons would take to the buildings themselves while “volunteers” and more experienced troops take to the rooftops and fight roof-to-roof. Once the building was cleared, earthbenders would blow a hole to enter the next one. We lacked light but we made up for it in numbers. We had a large amount of fodder that could be sent against the defenders and as Song said, “one platoon will die, the next will take their place”. Not that we told the horde of militia ranting outside our house “let’s kill those ashmakers!” “If Aang was here, forgive me, if _ the Avatar _ was here, he’d peacefully object to our strategies” I said, earning laughter from Suki and Song. “He’d peacefully object before engaging the Avatar State and killing us all” Song one-upped us earning laughter from the rest of the room. 

Outside, the forces were armed with either crossbows or spears. I prefer Song’s realistic approach to arming troops. “I assigned each of my militia five bolts whether they carried a ji or crossbow. _ Someone’s _going to die and if they had a crossbow, it can be reused.” By comparison, my bow and arrows were useless. I had a runner bring them back to the General Mak Tower. I took a crossbow from the Quartermaster and a sizeable quiver of some ten bolts.

Advancing Towards the Azula Line:

Tonight’s objective was capturing the trench three blocks from us. The untrained mob kowtowed when I reappeared and formed what would roughly be considered a formation for Song’s pre-battle speech. He laid out the plans we came up with and had the troops divided, right then and there, into groups of ten. They were sent, courtesy higher-level officers, across the left flank. As he ran out of “people with village-level experience in authority position”, the remaining blob was cut into ten and was going to be given the “honorable position of vanguard” which earned an uproar of cheer. _Because if we can't command them, let's point them at our enemies_.

“I’m taking that roof!” Song said pointing at the top of the buildings poking above our line of sight from our cover behind the earth wall. “I’m going with you,” I told him. “which means I’m coming too” and I could sense Suki’s _ why-couldn’t-you-choose-to-stay-behind? _ Why the roof? It's the only place where I can see what’s happening. Groups raced back and forth to make for their positions. Most of the army was to run down the streets and ascend specific buildings, as assigned by their commanders. Song, Suki, I and his squad of competent earthbending bodyguards were to take the first street’s roof. “For the Earth Queen!” Song yelled to start the chant. “For Her Imperial Majesty!” the crowd punched the air. The ground was stomped, the walls fell in sequence starting from the one in front of us spreading out in all directions. 

For the few seconds I had while running for the corner store across from us, looking to my right showed that the militia broke its quickstep running formation and became a mob. The shop was pierced with earth boulders while we halted at an empty wall to its side. “Hold on, going up!” a man called out from my side. A stomp -and some long arm motions- and a platform of earth containing our entire strike group climbed the wall. I shook from the nervousness of...the unknown. “I hope there’s nobody up there” I said just a _ little _ too loudly. “If there is, you’ll wish you had a magical healing girlfriend, but no, you get _ me _ ” _ Thanks Sukes _. Song had his bow drawn back and I had a bolt ready to go. 

The platform reached the top and revealed a flat roof with nobody on it. The earthbenders crossed it in stride and one of them pointed at the floor. Walking over to it, hand on hilt, it was a door in the ground. All our stomping and yelling “clear” must’ve attracted attention, because the door swung open and hit one of the earthbenders in the chest, stunning him. The rest of us backed a pace up. A fireblast -and accompanying “For Agni!”- popped out but missed us. One of the earthbenders responded by tossing a piece of the floor at the attacker. One smash and thud later, we closed the door again. 

The building ahead of us was a story taller. The same positions were taken, the same “hold on!” and we ascended. _ Whoosh _ . I felt the heat pass overhead but before I could twist to see the fireblast, _ twing _, Song loosed an arrow into someone. Our team jumped off with the earthbenders punching up walls for defense. Said walls were pressed forward in a mobile defensive formation akin to a siege. When our wall crashed against whatever the defender was hiding behind, Suki went for the age-old “I’m jumping over the crumbling wall” surprise attack. Not the kind of surprise attack that involves screaming one's lungs out. I ran around and encountered Suki looking down on a man with an arrow in his chest. The others in our group took care of the other two defenders stationed on this rooftop. Another doorway. Nobody inside. “Come on, General, you don’t save anyone for me to-” “Be grateful you’re not down there” and I pointed at the street. 

Groups were running down the street, being caught out of cover and hit with arrows and fire. Flashes from inside windows showed _ some _progress was being made. Evermore came like a green carpet, rolling like a tide as far west as I could see. Ground forces engaged defenders in windows with crossbows or small rocks while others bashed down doors and ran in.

The building ahead of us was beneath us, so Song had the door opened and his men descended into the dark. Suki remained uptop with me while Song’s men cleared the attic. Judging from the lack of yelling, nobody was inside. A crash and the sound of a Fire Nation accent calling “dive!” brought our attention to looking off the roof.

Four people, three men and a woman, all silver haired, were hiding behind low stone positions. All four were launching blasts at our fighters hiding behind the wall. Suki tapped my shoulder and pulled me down to whisper. “They don’t notice you.” I nodded, knowing _ exactly _ what she was referring to. I lined up my sights and pinched the trigger. _ Click _ . _ What? _ I did it again. _ Click _ . _ Oh for Toph’s sake. I picked a misfiring crossbow _. So I did the second-best. 

_ Bonk _ . My whiskey flask smacked the man located beneath us in the head and it caused him to stagger and fall over. I just missed the three fire blasts because Suki grabbed my shoulder and made me fall backwards. “Ow, my chest” Suki sarcastically said. “Ow, your chest? Ow, my head.” I said, much louder but equally sarcastically. “Ow, my back!” the elderly man below us said, probably not being sarcastic. “I knew it...” _ fist, meet air, _ “...old people’s weakness is a fall” “How many old people have you beat up?” she gave me that Katara glance of _what-did-you-just-say?_ I shrugged. The other three had taken falls by the time I fell down there.

I retrieved my flask, no it hadn’t broken, and we continued to the next building. Suki punched the sole defender in the face and that was that. The rest of the buildings were empty. “You forgot to operate the lever, Your Majesty”. _ Oh. Thanks Song. Don’t tell anyone _. Turns out I didn't actually pull the cord back with the lever. Down on the street, our forces were faring much better. Fire Nation flags were pulled out of windows and Earth Kingdom flags waved in their place by bloodstained, cheering men and women. The street was under our control. “Your Majesty, the militia!” Song redirected my attention towards two blocks over down the same street.

The green mass was head-on charging the enemy trench line. A couple daring leaders were punching in the direction of the enemy forces, chanting...well I have no idea...before silently falling. Only a dozen or so fire blasts were sent their way, probably many more arrows. The first couple wave charged over their fallen officers. Then the next wave advanced the length of a building before, too, being set alight. Then the next made it half as far. The frontmost of the charge were as close to their target as I was to the nearby rooftop. But they turned and fled. “Get me down there, soldier!” Song’s instructions got us down to the street level. From there, “I’m getting my men!” Song ran in the opposite direction of the fleeing tide. “Charge?” “Lead the way, One-Eyed Badgermole” _ Thanks Sukes _ .

These Toph-fearing peasants ignored my bright blue Imperial Armor in favor of following the person in front of them. I grabbed the first man I could catch up to and drew my blade. “Get back in there or _ I’ll _ kill you!” I said as loud as I could. He looked at the armor, then up at me and focused on my eyepatch. “The One-Eyed” _ slap _. He turned around and ran after Song. I had gotten back to the Ozai Line before Song made it to the right streetcorner. I directed anyone I could find. “Guards! Wall it up!” and soldiers of the Imperial Army formed an earth wall in the same place as before.

There were only twenty of us versus thousands of our men. They yelled, they wailed of “not wanting to die”, they cried, they punched the wall. “Hold firm, men! Get me stairs up!” I said with jian drawn. All I heard Suki utter was “Kyoshi” and I stopped. “What did you say?” “You’re just like Kyoshi.” Why thank you, Suki. One of the soldiers made the staircase and I climbed up. I then oversaw the entire mass. People were being crushed together in a panic to escape. “Militia!” some of them looked up. “His Imperial Majesty” they said, first with shock, then with relief. “Your Imperial Majesty!” and one by one, ten by ten, they brought up their hands to bow since they were too packed to kowtow. 

If Kyoshi threatened to execute her militia, and knowing her, she probably did, I was going to use whatever I could. “Your fathers and brothers, grandfathers and uncles, died defending our homeland from those who dwell in that Palace!” They let out a round of nodding. I ordered Suki “Captain, get me an Earth Kingdom flag!” She skipped a few paces and retrieved one from the wall of Song’s house. “Here you go” and she handed it to me while my gaze remained moving from person to person in the crowd. “Back up!” my word was their command. I jumped off the, what, me-height wall, and stuck the landing. 

The crowd parted and all eyes tracked my anger. I wasn’t angry at the Fire Nation for being good defenders, I was angry that the militia broke so easily. In retrospect, that’s to be expected of militia. Not that I was going to utter that. In my off-hand, I held a flag and let my running wave it. The crowd erupted in cheers. “After His Imperial Majesty!” they cried. “Onwards!” was passed around. _And that...that's how you rally a bunch of farmers. Tell them nonsense about riches and their ancestors_.

Song had successfully regrouped some of his men and they were lined up at either side of the street corners. I saw Song see me and mouth _ something _ , along with a bow. “With him!” he pointed at me and his forces became the spearpoint. Most likely, they were encouraged to “beat” me in a scabbard-measuring footrace. Also likely was that seeing me fueled their charge. Distant calls of “loose at will!” and “For Agni!” Eitherway, they took all the fireballs and arrows for me. Because the first man in the line always dies. The tenth might live.

The numbers in front of me were being thinned out. I continued waving the flag even as an arrow went right through it. As those in front of me fell, people to my sides picked up the pace. “Forwards! For the Earth Queen!” and they barrelled forward. Arrows took out arms, legs, chests, heads. We ran over those that fell and hit the defenders head on. I jumped _ over _the trench as our men fell in while still holding the flag as I had a different target in mind. 

The enemy officer, a middle-aged man with a three-pointed beard and an officer's helmet and a guan dao in his back hand. The tip stirried in the dirt. “The One-Eyed Badgermole!” his gravelly voice announced. “Care for a duel?” I offered. He brought his off-hand up and bowed. _ Oh, I love the Fire Nation and their honor _.

He swung the polearm in an elongated swing to drive me back before getting into ready position. He used the momentum to try another slash. _ Ping _. His blade struck mine and he grinned. My offhand tossed the flag at him, which distracted him. This moment allowing me to press his blade off mine and get into a front stance, driving the blade through the flag and into his chest. He collapsed, flag still in grip.

I looked back down at the trench. Our troops were in intense melee with the defenders. The first wave that arrived appeared to have tackled as many of the defenders as they could. Mostly punches, elbows, daggers and the occasional axe or hammer. On the other side, flame daggers were lethal. Only, we had far more numbers. Our daggers plunged into them from all sides. The right flank of this one trench was harder to break as the enemy forces were bundled up. Due to the width of this trench, only three men wide, anyone in the trench could charge them but would end up killed by fireball or flame dagger. What did we do? Individuals picked up jis and came at the defending line from above. The midsection was pierced, cutting the right flank into two pieces. One piece was crushed between those in the trench and polearms and the other was overwhelmed. “Spread out!” Song was ordering from the other side. Glancing up and down the trench, red figures were retreating. I grabbed the bloodstained, big-hole-in-the-middle flag which earned chants of victory. _Oh, if the Court Painter was here this would be the best kind of propaganda. 'His Imperial Majesty waves bloody flag with one foot on corpse of stereotypical Fire Nation man'. _My thoughts of how this could be used for recruitment were replaced by Song shouting “Debriefing, my base!”

I ran down the third block to avoid any enclaves of defenders, thanks dozen volunteer bodyguards. As I walked back to Song’s base, Suki saw me and tackle-hugged me. “I see you haven’t gotten yourself killed yet” “Glad to know you’re okay, too” “Fiiine, I’m granting you a whiskey, _ Your Majesty _ .” and we had a bit of a wrestle-off which resulted in Suki tossing me over herself and onto the stone ground. Was it weird to the crowd of cheering passerbys? Probably. Did I care? Of course not. Wrestling is fun.

At Song’s debrief, we received reports of how the rest of the line was doing. Elsewhere, the officers completed their objectives of capturing the first two city blocks, but were held up as soon as they tried crossing to the third. Our penetration and subsequent expansion caught the defenders off-guard and between our spearpoint and their charge, the Azula Line forcefully capitulated. While I charged the Azula Line, we suffered casualties from the windows on the third block. Groups, platoons, of people peeled off the charge to attack the buildings. 

Across the left flank, it appeared as if we were encountering little in the way of defenders. “Has Bujing abandoned the Upper City? That would explain the few defenders” one of the officers asked or maybe stated. “May he is relocating them to other flanks?” a different officer inquired. “How _ are _the other assaults doing?” I asked Song but directed it to the whole room. 

The few reports we received at that time suggested the right flank was in tatters and was barely holding on to a defensive line. Was that where the main focus of Bujing’s forces were? We don’t know. During the meeting, a runner came bearing a report from Fong. “At Azulon Line, fully encircled, tanks destroyed.” “Of course it's Fong who got himself trapped” Song remarked. Runners were dispatched and found a lack of officers in the center to muster a relief force. 

As for a troop overview: Song acquired a “low” estimate of five out of every ten men lost since the landings at the beachhead a few days, maybe a week and a half, ago. The upper estimate was eight out of ten. On the Fire Nation’s side, he cites numbers from across the city. “Twenty defending this block, fifteen that one” and so on. When we come under attack from apartments, we aren’t under endless volleys. Our forces barge in and encounter pairs of defenders. “As soon as Bujing knew the Upper City was lost, most of his forces were recalled to defend the Royal Palace”. 

That night, I went to sleep next to Song’s room, an officer gladly relinquished his bed for me. All I cared about was the Kyoshi Warriors and my runners reported that they were fine and happy to hear from me. Thus, I could sleep in peace.

I _ could _ sleep in peace, until the thunder of artillery stirred my dream of dueling Sokka for...something. I forgot. We were going to follow customary dueling traditions, or that's what I thought, but he tossed his boomerang and bonked me on the head. I fell down and before being...arrested? Killed? I asked why he went against custom to which he went "Water Tribe!" and then my dream was interrupted. And everyone else was stirred, too, if Suki’s “get up, we’re under attack!” screaming was anything to go by. She got me into my Imperial Armor and we ran outside. There was no moon out and all we could see were the few lit torches up on the volcano’s switchback or the brighter skies from inside the volcano, coming from the Royal Palace and associated area.

_ Screech _ . Suki grabbed me and dived to the ground. The earth shook. “What in the name of Her Imperial Majesty?” was all I could say. “Maybe we can find out if we look from up there!” she pointed at Song’s house. A staircase was made alongside and we went up it. Troops, our troops, were running about. “Up there, on the cliffs!” and Suki took my hand and pointed at the cliff sides for me. _ A string of lights _. “Reinforcements?” Horns sounded. “Maybe”. We laid back against some some sheets balled up and watched the torches twinkle.

We fell asleep from exhaustion. Up there. On the roof. “Your Majesty, get up!” Song’s voice woke me again. “Suki!” now it was my turn to shake her. She got up in surprise, drawing her fans by instinct. The two of us locked eyes on the same objects at the same time. All along the cliffside, small black artillery trucks were parked, firing inwards at the Upper City. The awestriking sight of a hundred artillery pieces, launching stone shells into_...where we are._ Dust plumes rose from the city. Shells fell _ just _ to our west. Close enough that I saw one collide with a roof I was on the day prior and send shrapnel flying in all directions. _ So that’s why, despite the amount of shells fired, there are so few demolished apartments _ . “Get me a runner!” I screamed. I told the runner to “get up to that hill and tell them they’re shelling our troops!” One shell flew over our heads before colliding with the cliff not far to our south.

Just afterwards, I found Song and we agreed that we should probably pull back. I say probably because we were interrupted by horns. Lots of horns. Look back up at the cliffs, the morning sun casting them a nice yellow, “is it just me or is that part of the cliff _ moving _ ?” asked Suki. I didn’t know what she was referring to, so she pointed me in the right direction. Just to the east of the volcano rim, a large dust cloud was being kicked up. As it arrived at the base of the volcano, all the vehicles ceased firing. “Now’s our chance!” I said without thinking. Song and I agreed, now was the time for a charge. We had breakfast and set out, because breakfast always comes first.

Encirclement:

The militia could see this offensive with their own eyes and thus were extra-motivated. No pre battle speeches needed. We set off in a march, not a run, we wanted to save our energy for the battle part of a siege. We passed the Azula Line and against the wishes of his officers, Song continued charging. We didn’t come under assault. No fire blasts from windows. “Are you sure this isn’t a trap?” one of the officers asked. “And if it is, we spring it!” he counter quipped. But it wasn’t a trap. This wasn’t a clever strategy by Bujing. The dwindling numbers of defenders had melted or were found beneath rubble of fallen structures.

“The cowards have retreated!” Song announced when the Earth Kingdom flag was hung from a pillar at the Azulon Line. The crowd, stretching back blocks, cheered in waves. Despite this rapid charge, he continued his previous plan. “Take five platoons for each city block between here, the Azula Line and the Thoroughfare”. Only now did he realized how few soldiers he had. “General, you plan to advance upon the next trench with five hundred men?” I asked. “Of course, we only needed four hundred to win yesterday”. We took two fingers of time to recuperate. Due to our charge, we received no news.

Two blocks before the Azulon Line we halted and ducked behind corners. Pairs of earthbending scouts were dispatched. They ascended the roofs for surveillance. “Report!” came the scouts. “There’s only six people defending the next trench.” “Six?” I asked because I didn’t believe it. “Six, Your Majesty”. Song _ wheezed _from laughter. “Then this will be easy”. He summoned four platoons and sent them ahead as the speartip. We were going to follow suit. 

The firebenders were able to kill most of the platoons but were overwhelmed with numbers. That, and Song put an arrow through the officer’s eye-slit from a block away, causing them to rout. Another flag was hung and the soldiers cheered. This time, Song stated “I’m halting here”. He had the remaining troops ascend the houses and engage them. All...hundred or so of them. The sounds of an earthquake made me dive for the nearest cover. “Suki, we gotta get out of here! Another artillery strike!” and I got up and climbed out of the trench. Soldiers joined me in running away from the rumbling. I don’t know where I was going, I was just running away. I wasn’t going to die from accidental bombardment. The earthquaking got closer. I drew my blade. “Your Majesty, I don’t recall artillery being so constant.” “Well what else could it be?” and an earth wall rose in front of us. We halted. A loud _ slam _ and the wall split in two. Through the dust cloud, a young woman coated in sand. Her pom-pom bracelet remained on the whole time. Her toe-picking hand was nose-picking instead. The entire crowd dropped their weapons, lots of _clangs_, and kowtowed. Said woman strolled up to my chest, looked up at me and yelled “ _ Kyoshi _, I got bored of going without back massages, so I came to find you!” and I teared up. “It’s really you...” and I went in for a hug. I got a palm to the face. “You want to hug someone? Go hug my earth wall” and she walked a few steps past. Everyone around us was kowtowing.

She removed her finger from nose-picking duty and punched my shoulder. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: The Battle for the Royal Palace commences.
> 
> This chapter, as with the last one, and the next one, contains references to the Battle of Berlin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_in_Berlin The commanders; in history it was Zhukov and Konev, in this it's Fong and Song, of the attacking force, the Red Army/Imperial Army, are ordered to 'race' to capture the defender's iconic structure, The Reichstag/Royal Palace. Both cities have intense house-to-house fighting. Just as with Caldera, the forces under the Nazis dwindled to the point that positions might be defended by platoons at best. They ran out of people to throw at the oncoming Soviet advance, just as Bujing's forces have run out of loyalists to throw at the Imperial Army. 
> 
> I would recommend the 2004 film Downfall for a excellent overview of the Battle of Berlin. If you happen to prefer historical documentaries, The World At War episode 21 "Nemesis: Germany" includes interviews with Traudl Junge (Hitler's private secretary) and Albert Speer (the Minister of Armaments and War Production) and covers the final months of Nazi Germany.
> 
> Thanks for 1200 hits!


	64. Second Battle of Caldera - The Royal Palace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Imperial Army sieges the Royal Palace.

HIM Entry LXIV:

“I’m taking the Consort for a walk”. Being dragged across the Upper City by earth fist...not my finest moment. If nothing else, I got to remind her about Fong. Oh, and as compromising as it is, I love the Toph-granted affection.  


Show Off:

A set of fire blasts flashed by when we made a left just before the main road. “Toph, there’s fighting up there!” I tried and failed to shout. The fist stopped. She cracked her knuckles. “I’ve gone too long without one”. At least she was polite enough to palm strike the ground and release me. I drew my blade and gave chase to the young woman as she took off on an earth wave.  _ What was I thinking? _

I turned a corner just in time to see Toph snap either wrist and teach two firebenders the meaning of flight. More of them were yelling.  _ Do I run in to save my Queen?  _ First things first.  _ Gulp _ . Fire Whiskey isn’t as good as Kyoshi’s. Where was I?  _ Tap. Tap. Smash _ . Toph knocked on the wall twice, how polite, then walked into it, fell onto it and rose a metal suit of armor. The guys with three eye-holes  _ were  _ punching at the wall and backed up when Toph walked into it. Now? They punched over her head and at me. “I don’t want to-” I was going to say die but an earth wall came out of the ground and pushed me to the side. 

I wasn’t going to let that stop me. The whiskey touched the spot, sadly not strong enough to  _ hit  _ the spot, and I ran forward blade in hand. Toph had taken a few steps forward and gotten herself surrounded by the best of the best. They were punching pillars at her.  _ Smash _ . An earth wall encircled the encirclers. “Welcome to the First Caldera Rumbe!” her metal armor turned her voice into something much deeper and more haunting. “With your champion, the Bliiiiiind Bandit!” and the ground shook. Some of them took to the air with feet-jets and punched fireballs at...whatever chaos was happening there.

Someone screamed and the rest of them took to the air to hop over and...tackle her? I don’t know. I do know that she hit someone with an earth pillar so hard they went through the ring wall and went flying past me. “Afternoon!” I waved as he collided with a nearby wall. “One down, the rest of you to go!” Toph said in her most masculine voice. With the hole in the wall, I could look in and see her punch earth plates at her opponents. Two were hit. Toph ran at another, an earth wall providing cover for her, and she reached  _ through  _ the earth wall and grabbed the soldier by his chest armor. She tapped the ground, earth pillared his foot and  _ picked him up _ . She then rolled backwards and brought the unfortunate man down  _ on his head _ . 

The rest of them continued firing but it didn’t bother her for she had assembled a set of earth armor around the metal armor. “This thing...lacks a face!” one cried out before she earth-pillar tackled him into a nearby building. Her lack of a face scared them into running. Imperial Firebenders, trained from birth, called for a retreat. “Oh, you cowards!” her normal voice returned. One of these remaining Imperials couldn’t get his flame jets up in time and ran for the wall. She swiped her hand, picked him up with a piece of the floor, and sent him flying like a boomerang into the Lower City. Except this boomerang didn’t come back. 

“Get out here, Fong!” she ordered while peeling armor off her face. She tossed the sheets to the floor and sat down on a low pillar. A door across the street opened and a warhammer wielding shadow emerged. He looked at me, I pointed at Her Relaxing Majesty. There were so few troops they couldn’t form a proper column. They lined up single file and kowtowed. “Where’s everyone else?” “Trapped down the road, or dead”. 

“Your Majesty, may I suggest stopping for lunch? You look exhausted” Fong said while in kneeling position. “ _ Kyoshi _ , am I covered in sweat?”  _ How do I react to this?  _ “Yes, Your Majesty” and I waited for the inevitable “good”. Instead, she pulled me over with an earth fist, tugged on my hand and wiped her face down. My hands are supposed to be for wielding blades, but cleaning her face is a honorable job nonetheless. She reached down to the ground, picking up some dirt. “Better?” she asked while her face was coated in… a ‘healthy layer of earth’. "Yes, it's much better!" and I got a rock-glove to the shoulder.   


She ran off without letting me know and once I heard screaming I ran down the street. Firebenders were getting tossed around in all directions. One guy came tumbling past, his face where his legs are supposed to be and his legs in the next province over. I was too late. Red figures, or parts of them, dotted the street. Broken chestplates and busted heads. There was also a line of...hands? reaching out of the ground further down. _What in Agni?_ Alongside a platoon of the Imperial Army, though it was probably just Toph, she cleared an entire trench. I say trench, but the ground  _ where  _ the trench should be was filled in. “What happened there” I pointed at the discolored ground. “I don’t know!” she tossed her hands in the air. “I meant the trench”. “Oh, these guys were pretty stupid. They built defenses  _ in  _ the earth. So I combined the two walls.” "Are they...dead?" "What happens when you combine a wall and another wall?" and she cracked her neck. _Spirits, those poor poor mass murderers_. “Long live Her Imperial Majesty!” one of the soldiers chanted. The rest joined in. 

All the Generals were ordered to meet up at Sozin’s Line. While walking over there, I asked Toph her thoughts. “Any thoughts”. “Okay, you smell great” was her thought. Followed by a  _ shoulder punch _ . According to my senses, I smell like dirt plus sand plus sweat plus other people’s blood plus more sweat. At this meeting in a trench, Toph ordered the Royal Palace be captured “in as few pieces as possible”. 

The Approach:

While Toph sat back on an Imperial Throne lugged from the other end of the world, I was instructed to joined Fong and Song on the assault of the volcano. Even with the Imperial Siege Cannon, we were only able to knock off the top of the rim. And the only way up was the switchback trail that could support a single tank at a time if we were lucky. The idea of building a tunnel was thrown about like a Imperial Firebender being juggled by Her Imperial Majesty. But it was rejected as a messenger came running in bringing peculiar news.

“General Shiro wishes to parley outside the approach’s gatehouse” came the report. “Your Majesty, it is clearly a trap” came the advice of Song. Toph didn’t care. She put on an oversized conical hat and walked off. While I still had tentative control over the quickly deteriorating situation that was  _ most likely  _ going to turn into a massacre, “I want the Royal City carpeted in every explosive we’ve got.” “Right away, Your Majesty” a scroll was produced, stamped, and sent off with a messenger hawk. “Where were  _ they  _ during the past week of fun” and I gave pursuit. “I’m with you, Your Majesty. If we had those, we could’ve been more cautious”.  _ Right, cautious. You have a warhammer. _

Not much longer, the drumming of artillery began once again. "Thank the...spirits?" a soldier pondered. "Screw spirits, thank the men and women of the Artillery Corps!" I shouted. The soldiers around me drew their dao, "Ten Thousand Years to the Artillery!" we collectively cried as iron shells starting flying over our heads. Rumbling booms from inside the volcano earned a pause in the march and another "Ten Thousand Years to the Artillery!" shout. _Oh, Artillery, I'm never going to get tired of your beautiful chorus_. Of course, inside the volcano, entire city blocks were going to be reduced.

It took far longer to get to Toph than I thought. All the demolished buildings were being cleared and I had to climb _over_ a column of tanks. I was expecting Toph would walk up to the gatehouse and encounter one of the following: a middle-aged man who looks similar to Jee riding a dragon, a team of Imperial Firebenders, one explosive, ten explosives, some hide-a-ballistas, or any of the preceding. Instead, four Imperial Firebenders, one point to me, standing behind a man who did look like Jee, half a point, and wide-open gates. He wasn’t even wearing General’s armor. What kind of General doesn’t wear General’s armor? He was dressed like a Sergeant about to go out on a fancy dinner with a ceremonial jian scabbard. _Wait a moment, he was probably promoted to General yesterday and told to march off to die this morning..._Toph was there, our guards standing back by the houses. He was bowing, the guards behind him standing as stiff as adult birch trees being aggressively hacked at by a war club.

I got to the side and went all “ahem, you kneel in the presence of Her Imperial Majesty, the Fifty-Third Earth Queen, the Lady of Gaoling” but got a palm to the face.  _ I see how it is _ . “I think a duel would be a great way to solve this. Winner charges loser.” _ What?  _ “Summon General Fong”.  _ What. Ow. Please stop with the ear-grabbing _ . “ _ Kyoshi _ , summon General Fong”. “Right...away. Sure” and I skittered off. The low drilling sound of aircraft engines directed my attention towards the north.  _ Wow, they’re fast _ . Four biplanes. Then another four. 

I did as I was commanded, only one door was kicked in to accomplish it. By the time I returned to Toph, sitting on a small pillar,  _ picking her toes in front of the enemy _ , smoke plumes were rising from inside the volcano and General, Lieutenant, I don’t remember, was meditating. I saw the tears on his cheeks. Every single boom brought another. _Surrender's always available_. “Hey, sounds like the duel’s on!” Toph popped out of her seat. Behind the gatehouse, lining the road up the volcano, red figures dressed in all kinds of wear looked on. I don’t know what they were armed with, but there were many spears and only a few firebender helmets. Behind us, the column of tanks had rolled up and a small army of Royal Guard stood sturdy as Wulong’s pillars. 

The duel was on. He gave a single breath and rose. Lieutenant what's-his-name drew  _ two  _ jians while Fong chuckled, hands close together while gripping the polearm. I’d argue that they moved with elegance to sound nice and flowery, but he ran forward trying to shout us to death and flailing his hands about. One blade came down, parried with a stick. As Fong was wearing leather tekko, the blades couldn’t cut his hands off. The other tried to stab him and he laughed as the blade poked his chest and the pointy end snapped off. “Ceremonial?” and now Shiro was on the defensive. 

And you know what they say about a firebender on the defensive. It's high time for the Shinji Slice.

He tried blocking a warhammer strike with his other blade, didn’t work. The blade fell out of his hands. One more wide swing but this time our opponent switched to firebending. A fireblast might’ve worked except  _ crash _ against his chest. He went stumbling backwards and fell flat on his back. Fong let out a roaring, deep laugh, held his warhammer high as possible, and came down with a crushing blow. The armor of the Sergeant-now-General was caved in. The Sergeant wept his last tear and he was no more. The four guards ran away. Toph had this toothy grin of approval. Though she was also facing the wrong direction. 

“You see that!” Fong boomed. “Your General fought with dignity. He fought with honor. He fought impossible odds, that takes immense courage. And he  _ died _ !” he turned around to face me. Not me, but the army behind us. Fong noticed this as well “Armored Corps! Adddddvance! Pound that crowd ‘to the ground!” and he pointed at the approach with his warhammer while his other hand beckoned the vehicles forward. I immediately made for the safety and security of the short blind girl as fireballs were flung at us. I had to tackle her into the ground because a standing target is a easier target. "Now's not the..." but her feet sense did their thing "...earth wall, on it!" and she kneed me in the chest and a earth wall in front of us arose. _Ow. _  


Earthbending soldiers attached to the tanks built small firing ramps as the turrets can’t point upwards. The column became a double line that started shelling the mass of red currently running back up the mountainside. Things went boom. Half the tankists couldn't aim. They must’ve run out of explosives because they were firing regular stone ammunition. That, or they didn’t want to destroy the roadway. The front squadron of tanks rolled up to the gatehouse that Fong was tapping on. “Its metal” and  _ that  _ got Toph’s attention away from proudly standing behind her human shield bodyguard Consort person. I gave chase. She walked up to the large double doors, took off her hat and put her ear to it. She tapped the door.  _ Tap. Tap _ . “Not a problem”. Four elbow strikes, two finger kisses and the door was peeled open and kicked off. “Lead the way, Your Majesty” Fong said while the rest of the army cheered. With my one eye, I kept a watch on the retreating mass. I saw a fireball tossed at us and I tackled Toph into our side of the gateway. A tip for the old human shield tactic, our training was to tackle the important person out of the way. But I went one further because Suki was one crazy sifu. We had to tackle _and _roll. So I tackle rolled Her Imperial Majesty out of the way of a fireball. "Fireball, again." I exclaimed. "Thanks" _shoulder punch_. "I would humbly suggest you don't charge firebenders" "Good idea, I've got toes to pick." and she rose and began bossing the tanks.   


Breaching the Royal City:

Behind the thin line of unchecked tanks came the Royal Metalbending Guard. Her Imperial Majesty  _ really  _ wanted me to lead the way -"there is nobody else I would trust this to"- and “I am yours to command”  _ note to self: genius move _ and “let’s attack in style”, so I’m assigned to sit on a palanquin and overview the battle from there. “Since when have we used the Imperial Palanquin?” “I wanted it brought along just for this”.  _ Thanks Toph, you have such comedic taste.  _ We marched and marched. The militia assigned to defending the approach were gone. Even so, we couldn’t step inside the bunkers. One of our scouts did and it exploded.   


Cheers overtook the force as we came over the rim of the city. “Halt, here” and Captain Wuhan made a stone step that I didn’t need but used anyways. The rim itself was rocky, save for the road that flattened part of it. I found the highest point and ascended it. From the vantage, I could look northeast and looked down the barrel of the Imperial Siege Cannon. _If that doesn't bring nightmares, I don't know what will_. Next to it, the stone building we slept in. The artillery ramparts, the stone wharf and  _ where was the Colonial Navy _ ? There were Earth Junks dotted across the sea. No cruisers. No aircraft carrier. They...they're gone. "Where is my Navy!" I cursed the skies and the seas. "Where are they?" and it hit me. _Han you bastard son of Oma. You did this, didn't you?_ On the other side, the Royal City had smoke plumes rising from all over. 

In the middle of it all, the Royal Palace. Words don’t do feelings justice. I felt...encompassed. As if volcano rim was growing wider by the blink. 

I fell upon my knees and the rest of the column joined me. I pulled out my green-hilted blade and placed it in front of me. I kowtowed to the building. So did they. The single tall tower forms the head of a phoenix. The other two, the tips of its wings. The gold and red of the structure contrasting sharply with the black volcanic rock surrounding the building. Inside that building…  _ I’m about to take the home of Agni. The seat of Agni. The seat of Sozin. Azulon. The Dragon Throne.  _ Azula’s in there, somewhere. Chants were issued. Prayers of victory and oncoming peace. I grabbed my blade, turned exactly the opposite direction and spotted the arbiter of this victory. I bowed to a toe-picking Toph, turned slightly left to bow in the direction the Imperial Palace, and got back in the palanquin. The march resumed. It didn’t last long, as Bujing had one last force to dispose of. 

The Imperial Firebenders were waiting for us at the bottom of the descent. “Get His Majesty into cover!” came the cry. I was out and had two options. “We can retreat or hold the line, Your Majesty!”. “Charge! For the Earth Queen!”, blade unsheathed,  _ let's do this _ . 

Drilled to perfection, the Royal Guards formed earth walls with one stomp and launched them with a second. Our column became a circle around me as walls were formed and boulders tossed. But they weren’t normal firebenders. They jumped up and bursts of fire jets allowed them to beat our walls. They launched blasts and men around our flamboyant marching parade were turned into equally flamboyant types of meat. 

_ Firebenders can’t defend.  _

“Break ranks, charge!” but they hesitated. And I was going to set an example. I sighted one Imperial who was firing from behind a roof.  _ Bolt loaded _ . He jumped out of cover to avoid a boulder and came flying over us.  _ Thunk _ . The bolt hit his fire-jet foot, sending him tumbling into the street. “Charge!” and the walls came down and we ran forward.

Earth waves are unfair. Metalbending is even more unfair. Our forces could grab them with earth fists and smash them back and forth. We could turn metal armor into blades or javelins with one hand and peel their armor off with another. Wuhan must be a Toph fan because he tackled an Imperial into a wall and proceeded to smash his head into said wall. Shi and Jie must be Wuhan fans because they turned fallen armor into twin blades and impaled two Imperial Firebenders at once. 

I was only watching my three direct bodyguards, not the entire column. There were soldiers on our side struck down with fire blasts. But for every one of ours that died, we killed ten of theirs with a variety of earthbending and metalbending. Plus, you can never go wrong with throwing a street sized plate of earth at someone. 

By the time the smartest of them called for “pull back!”, we cheered to the horns and calls of “reinforcements coming”. I took a position next to the burning palanquin while guards searched houses and spread out. Who was reinforcing us? “Good afternoon Your Majesty” How bowed while the line that weaved its way up the mountain halted. The Imperial Army was here. Finally here.

They're only a few weeks late. 

The Last Night:

I took a house along the main road for a place to have dinner. The sun vanished behind the rim as smoke turned it red. Flags were hung up, Wuhan took his post at the door and an entire army marched past my window. The constant drumming of artillery and battle made me spill my tea. My “I just wanted to be alone” private dinner was interrupted by, multiple times, news of events happening. The list of events were as follows:

General Fong’s Armored Corps were checked by anti-tank ballistas. But he had ‘learned’ from last time. His vehicles would hug the sides of the street. From there, they could provide cross-fire. Between staying out of the ballista’s line of sight and accompanying soldiers, they pressed and pressed and only lost half the tanks to reach the wall around the Royal Palace.

General Song’s forces took the left flank while How -recently arrived- took the right. Neither has made much progress as the city is quite dug in. House-to-house fighting rages a few city blocks over from me as the Imperial Army combines close-range artillery and earthbending with tight defenses. Are we losing lots of troops? Probably. They say a thousand men are lost for a single city street.  


In better news, the White Lotus have captured the provinces west of Caldera. Caldera was now fully encircled. They were reinforced with Dai Li. Instead of using them to assault the city, Han must’ve dispatched them to quickly surround the city. _Which is genius, because it's not like we needed those excellent assassins. You bastard. _As for the White Lotus? I supposed Zuko’s quest succeeded. Tens of thousands of civilians had fled west and surrendered without a fight. 

I had found a bedroom to sleep in, thanks for the escort Wuhan, and was stirred in the middle of the night by Suki of all people. And by stirred, I mean she pulled off my blanket and poured some water on my face. Apparently, one of her patrols had discovered some militia looting and returned to find me. “Why can’t you report this to  _ anyone  _ else? No officers around?” The answer was “because one of the officers was doing it”. I joined them to go find this man again. After all, the officer might not listen to my bodyguard, but they’d  _ have  _ to listen to me. And if they didn't want to, I had a jian.  


We approached one nobleman’s compound, the same one according to one of the girls and walked through the front gate. One man, dressed in the garb of an Earth Kingdom coal miner, was guarding the doorway. Inside, lights flickered. He drew his dao. “Who comes at this time of night?” he quivered. They lowered the torches to show my face and the guard shook. “Your...Majesty. I’m honored” and he put his blade on the ground. “What’s going on inside that house, soldier?” I asked, hand still on hilt. “We’re...interrogating someone” he had to pause to say. “Interrogating? All prisoners are to be sent to the Dai Li over at the headquarters by the Imperial Siege Cannon. Who are you interrogating the night before our victory, anyways?” And  _ now  _ he was sweating. “The...Magistrate...of one of the Fire Islands”  _ Right. _ “Really? Then they surely belong to the Dai Li and not mere...” I looked him over. He lacked shoes, his leggings were schisming at the kneecaps and his hair was roughly done into a topknot. “...militia.” I looked at Suki who shot me a  _ something’s-up  _ and I nodded. “But, Your Majesty, the prisoner is-” and I shoved him out of the way. “Two of you, grab him. The rest, with me”. 

The house had one lantern in the lobby. I took it and walked through the building. I followed the sound of smashing objects and worked my way up the stairs. A figure came out from a passing bedroom and went wide-eyed. “Your…” I grabbed his collar. “Where’s the officer doing the looting?” He refused to budge. “Girls, spread out! Find the man!” I whispered to them. I dropped the man by his shirt and followed Suki. We came upon a door with light emanating from beneath the crack. Suki opened it and I had my blade ready to go. Inside was something...something beyond cruel. There was a noble inside, so he was right. They weren’t interrogating her. They were doing far, far worse.   


One of these...creatures noticed me and pointed at me like I was a phantom. He yelled and drew a dagger. “Girls, grab every last one of them!” and my bodyguard poured into the large bedroom. A couple punches and head smashes and the four of them were tied up. We barely suffered a scratch. Suki had two of hers stay behind to guard the noblewoman -to whom we offered our provisions- while the rest of us carried three knocked out militia and one knocked out officer. 

I had a messenger sent to Toph to tell her what happened as soon as I returned to the base. Meanwhile, we strung the four of them up with rope outside the front door. Passing soldiers looked at this sight of four men tied to stone poles, hands and legs bound, heads slump, and would ask “what punishment is this?” They’d be told “As Avatar Kyoshi would decree: to those who violate others, execution”.

The ground shaking was my signal that Toph was arriving. Sure enough, she bored out of the ground and screamed with such vigor that the ground shook “Where are they?”. “The four on the pillars, Your Majesty” came the reply from us while kowtowing. “Wake them up” she ordered. “They  _ are  _ awake” and I directed her attention to their raised heads. General Song arrived shortly thereafter. His face was still bloody. These were his men. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. I had no idea my men were doing this.” and she cut whatever he was going to say off with “you’re telling the truth. This isn't your fault”. Now she was on to each of them. 

“It's far easier if you confess to Her Imperial Majesty” I announced. The four didn’t even try to hide it. They wept and begged mercy. Toph nudged me with a “just execute them” and I turned to Suki. She drew her katana. “Put them on the ground” and the four were placed on the ground. Toph stepped up to the first one. A young man with black hair, undone. “Kyoshi” she nudged my shoulder. I drew my jian while Toph stood to my side. I raised the blade to line up the slice  _ and the ropes combusted _ . Toph jumped backwards, avoiding a pitiful fireblast. _A Colonial? _  


He couldn’t even get up in time before a hand popped out of the ground and grabbed him. Toph tightly grabbed the ground and the fist crushed him into two halves of a person. The other three were _next_. I returned to Toph while Suki and Song beheaded the other two. The officer? He was shackled up with metalbending on orders of Song and was to be made a eunuch, first, then “I want his fingers and toes sent to every high ranking officer! Let it be said that this is what happens to those who violate others!” and the crowd kowtowed. Why? Long Feng's punishment for this exact crime and I see no reason to change it.  


Toph chose to take the bedroom I was using as hers but allowed me the privilege of sharing it. General Song asked for her plans tomorrow and I went “Her Imperial Majesty will wake when she feels like it” earning a grin from the ear-picking young Earth Queen hiding under a blanket next to me. Before leaving, he informed us that there was heavy fighting around the Royal Palace as artillery was shelling dug in Imperial Firebender positions. He left, Toph pulled the Imperial Armor off me and I recorded this. Now I’m going to sleep. 

Outside the Palace:

I woke up from multiple shoulder punches. Opening my eye, I noticed light pouring in through the sunroof ceiling.  _ Why is the sun red _ ? Then I noticed Toph’s undone hair falling on my chest. I grabbed some of it with my hand and tossed it over said young woman breathing on me. I barely let out a “morning, Your Majesty” before she pushed me out of bed. “You’re late to a victory.” “I’m not late, you wanted to sleep late” I complained. “I changed my mind”. To reconcile, I did her pile of hair into a bun of hair and we changed out of undergarments into my Imperial Armor with helmet and jian scabbard and her into a wrestler outfit with her cool arm bracers and conical hat. 

I summoned General Fong and Song with messengers while having breakfast, or maybe lunch. The two of them and the two of us had lunch together while discussing the past night and morning’s events. As Fong was the first one to reach the Palace, with his tanks, Toph awarded him “the honor of being the one to capture the palace” much to the dismay of Song who argued that “All he did was charge forward, I actually captured the city”. But Toph wasn’t going to budge. “Fong arrived there first, he gets the privilege. That’s my order” and the two generals brought up their hands to bow.

On orders from Her Imperial Majesty, I was to join Fong on the assault of the Palace. I kowtowed to her one more time, made sure Suki was warm, and walked out the front door to chants of “Ten Thousand Years!”

Had it not been for the main street, we’d have no idea where we were going. I couldn’t see beyond a few feet forward. This morning has had waves of militia fall before the Palace. Around the Palace, barren rock prevent any safe approaches. The first couple waves ran into bombs, rigged to explode when someone steps on them. Earth walls have been constructed and have been destroyed by raining explosives from the windows of the structure. Anyone that tries to approach the main door without cover will come under fire from dozens of different directions. And as most of the militia lack earthbenders, they are forced to try and break through the doors without cover.

As we walked down the road, soldiers were cheering as they pulled off flags and anything with that distinctive teardrop from passing government houses and tossed them onto the street. Spears with the Fire Nation banner on them were put into large piles. Soldiers were emerging carrying ornate dagger and dao scabbards. Furniture was strewn about along the street. Paintings of Fire Lords of ages past were being burned. We passed one street corner where a large statue of Ozai was being pulled down. The crowd was cheering and dancing as a metalbender cut off his head.   


The drumming got closer and before we knew it soldiers of the Armored Corps were climbing out of their tanks to kowtow to me. “We have arrived, Your Majesty” Fong bowed. Flashes of light in the distance, bursts of flame, were all that illuminated this cloud of brown and black. We passed by them and I came upon a great wall, the same height as the wall of the Outer Courtyard. Two large flame pots crowned the door. They sat atop pillars, each one had a single long golden dragon motif etched into it. The doors themselves bore golden puffs of smoke surrounding a black Fire Nation insignia. Imperial Firebender corpses were dragged to either side to allow the forces to charge through. I drew my blade and kowtowed to the great doors. That was the right thing to do, after all. Fong’s calls of “charge, charge, charge!” woke me from this numb sensation I had. The same sensation from earlier, except the walls seemed to grow around me.  


Killing Field:

I think we were running through a tunnel because everyone’s footsteps echoed. Eventually the sound of my running changed from pattering to loud pounding. From rock to paved, clean stone. Then came the torches, hanging atop the walls to either side. Flames were being launched at us from down the hallway. I ducked behind an earth wall and could barely make out what was going on. The soldiers behind us were yelling “Onwards!” and passed us by. When their accents vanished, new ones arrived to take their place. 

I think it was Fong who tapped my shoulder before leaving cover and attacking something. I joined him and almost got run over by my own forces. The hallways have junctions, I followed the brightest source to navigate this madness. I became able to actually  _ see _ what was happening thanks to a far distant curtain with a second sun behind it or something. Our troops were running forward and coming up against lines of firebenders behind metal walls and overturned cabinets, tables, anything else. It was just light enough that I could see people running towards a metal wall, probably two stories tall, with firebenders behind it. Some of them were trying to climb the wall, only to get killed. Amidst the crowd, someone launched themselves up and over the metal wall. All the fire blasts stopped for that brief moment and our charge could continue.

I took my chance and joined the mass. I encountered Fong smashing a wall down, leading people through the gap and into a dimly lit tea-room or something like that. He was about to swing his warhammer into the wall, “take that wall!” but it broke open. “Huh” and he looked at his warhammer. “Charge!” and we ran through the breach. We emerged behind the metal wall and encountered a figure wielding a long spear. 

He drove it through the closest firebender, pulled it out the other side and knee snapped it into two spears. He lunged one into a defender atop a wall while the other parried a dao strike. He let himself fall backwards, the dao-wielder on top of him. His hand raised and the first spear returned to him, hitting the dao-wielder on the back of the head. Two spears in hand, one through the chest, one through the face. “Nice dao!” and he rolled out from under the defender. Fong already took off for the curtain, the soldiers joining him. I couldn’t stay to watch him, but the loud crumbling sound followed by cheering opened up our assault. Fong pulled up an earth wall and drove it through the small doorway. I was just behind him. Suddenly, I was in a room with pillars the size of the ones in the Badgermole Throne, except a sun sat behind Fong’s earth wall.  _ That’s no sun _ . As our forces passed us by, I stuck my head out for a quick glance.  _ The Throne Room. _

Behind every large pillar, Imperial Firebenders. Spear-wielders could do nothing against them. Crossbow-wielders couldn’t get a shot off. It was just fodder. “Plans, Fong?” I asked while he breathed heavily. “What plans? Overwhelm them with numbers”.  _ That’s not a plan _ . “Form earth walls and press forwards?”  _ That’s more like a plan _ . We went with that. Fong stomped up a semicircle earth wall around the doorway and others joined him. The wall was expanded, doubled, tripled. Boulders were pulled out of the ground and flung overhead. On my tip-toes to get a look, we must’ve assembled some thousand people being cramped together. Some of them had plumes of the Royal Guard. Chants were circulated. We became a single, unified mass. The wall kept going forward. Firebenders countered with chants of Agni, but we had more voices. We must’ve made it halfway across the room when Fong yelled “Onwards! Ten Thousand Years!” and smashed the wall into dust with his warhammer.  _ It’s slicey time.  _

It wasn’t slicey time. I spotted one and ran forward. He was focused on cooking soldiers to my left so he didn’t notice when I came around the pillar from the other side and poked him in the neck. For whatever reason, the strange mix of soldiers gave up their perfectly good pillar defenses to charge us instead. They were comprised of sailors, Home Guard, a few pilots and both Imperial and regular firebenders.  I watched a platoon get torched, but then the next platoon surrounded the firebender and pulled off his helmet and that was that. I had a bigger target in mind. Dead ahead, a golden dragon eyed me while the elderly man sitting beneath it, on an equally golden throne, stroked his beard.  _ The Dragon Throne _ .  _ The Shogun _ .

He refused to launch fireballs at me. So I ran forward. The flames in front of his throne spasmed and he got out of his chair. I kept running forward. He drew a short blade from a waist scabbard and got on his knees. I kept going. My eye was fixated on the fire beneath the throne, as I’d need to get over that if I wanted to get to him. The flames grew higher and higher -the room as bright as day- before sending us into pitch black darkness. I spun around and watched the fire blasts cease. All the yelling stopped. Lots of “what just happened” from people with accents near and far. The fire trench glowed once more, albeit as dim as a distant hearth. A figure with a young voice from in front of me, I think he had the silhouette of an Fire Navy soldier, called out “The Shogun is dead!” Then...silence. _He gutted himself. The coward_. Then someone called out “we surrender!” and it was repeated. Someone tapped my shoulder and I almost gutted whoever it was. It was Wuhan and his beard. “Afternoon, Your Majesty”. He looked around before pointing at a figure who had just run through a curtain at the left corner of the Throne Room. “Grab him?” “Grab him.” and we gave chase. Fong’s voice came from somewhere behind us, “clear the Palace!”

End of the Line:

We followed this figure down a hallway, then another hallway, passing a large metal wall with a pair of Imperial Firebenders who had bowed in surrender, and before the four of us knew it we reached a dead-end. “There’s four rooms-” “-and four of us” from the twins. “One to each room”. So Shi and Jie took the near two rooms, Wuhan took the last one on the right and I took the last one on the left. “Your Majesty! I found the figure. She’s a mere servant” called the thick-voiced Wuhan. “Good, I’ll see you back in the throne room!”  _ because this will be quick _ . The three of them ran back down the hallway while I tried to jam the door open. It gave in. The light showed a red canopy bed, gilded pillars and orange silk sheets. The sheets had a figure under them, trying its hardest to not move.

“Let me guess” came that voice,  _ that voice _ . Collected, precise, like a lightning bolt. “Auburn hair, loves the color blue, as of this morning, rules the world” “Yes, yes, and this _evening_, yes.” the figure jumped out of her bed and with one palm, she could coat the red walls with blue light. She could turn my armor into a metal coffin and there'd be nobody who could stop her. Instead, a single finger was raised and from it a low orange light. Said figure was wearing nothing more than a red bathrobe. The makeup she once had? Gone. And yet her hair was as ornate as I remember. The Fire Lord's headpiece crowned it.  


I couldn't call the guards. That little smile was one of all-knowing, all-seeing control. If I so much as said 'guards', I'd get the treatment the Lord of Shirahama had. 

But she didn't stick me with a lightning bolt. "I thought you'd make it here this morning, what took so long?" she asked, tightening her bathrobe. 

"You should learn to be more punctual." and she went to do up her bed and rough up her pillow. After finishing, she bowed royalty-to-royalty.

"Unlike Zuzu, I know what honor is. And I know what an honorable defeat is. I invoke my divine status as Agni's chosen."  


"I surrender."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's not the end of Azula. No no no. There's much more next chapter.
> 
> This battle was inspired by the Battle for the Reichstag (there's more inspiration next chapter).  
Only two more chapters? No, there's a whole sequel series in the works and currently it's half as long as this entire series. I'm going for a million words.


	65. Ten Thousand Years?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything comes full circle...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to thank the few of you who have followed me this long. I don't have the thirty million hits or kudos others get, but those of who have been following since the first few chapters...well what can I say? I had a passion to write this and each of those kudos gave me inspiration to continue. Each comment gave me more ideas. 
> 
> I'll have a much longer speech after tomorrow's short chapter is done. Hint. It's called "You Gotta Deal With It".

HIM Entry LXV:

Her Highness loves a good performance.

Azula:

Azula enjoyed the company of her bed and the aromatic perfume of orange-lavender soaps. Why? I don't know. We had just finished the surrender terms. I heard the footsteps of guards. Someone must've got the idea that I hadn't returned to the room full of tenderized bodies. The Three returned. “We were just looking for you, Your- Is that…” and Wuhan got into stance. “Shi, Jie!” and the other two got into stance. “Why are you and her sitting on her bed?” he asked while pointing his dao at her. _That's not polite of you to ask_. “She surrendered-” but Azula silenced me with a finger. “And what good is a Princess who doesn’t follow her word?” "But...why don't you kill him? Why don't _you _kill her?" he shouted. "Guards, if she wanted me dead...if she wanted _us _dead-" I was silenced with another finger raise, "I'd have done it already. I faced a thousand of you before and I think you remember how it went last time."

The other guards weren’t as nearly as polite. Shi and Jie remember. They grabbed her -much to her anger-, tied her hands and legs together like she was a wild animal being brought back for a feast. Then they carried her off. Now that we were out in the open, her previously soft voice became one of panic. “Will you two ease off? I was told I was going to get shackles, not _ this _ !” and the duo laughed. She was going to get shackles. They kept pointing their blades at her like they were going to strike her down, and I kept reminding them that "she can kill all four of us in one swing" and making them hold their blades. I don't know about them, but there's no point. "She's escorting us out" I commented to them. Wuhan got it. He had to resist the urge to smash her head in with a boulder. His boss was killed, his few friends were killed, Long Feng -a man who approved of him getting the job despite being a 'dirty barbarian' - was killed. All by her.

We entered the Throne Room again. The surrendered Imperial Firebenders were gathered in the center of the room, a square of Earth Kingdom soldiers around them. The Imperials had their helmets removed, revealing similar gold eyes and black hair, done up in topknots and ostrich horse tails. “Bow, you peasants!” she screamed to her former men and women. Both prisoner and soldier looked our way. The prisoners were busy being shocked to respond. “You...you promised I wouldn’t be made a fool of,” she whispered. But Shi heard it and laughed. “Look here, everyone! Fire Lord Azula in all her grandeur!” and the soldiers that parted a way for us to pass were laughing. _I did promise that. _One of the Imperials punched a spearman in the face. “Oh, you’re all in for it” _ there’s the voice I know and fear _ . The rest didn’t hear it due to being distracted. Said Imperial snapped a spear in half and ran towards us. He was stopped with an earth wall and accompanying spears. The other prisoners got up and ran towards us. “Remove her shackles and I’ll take her! That’s an order!” “He captured her before, do it” Wuhan affirmed. They put her down and unrestrained her while I held my blade to her neck.

Considering the last time we were in this predicament, she was holding a finger of blue flame to _my _neck, this is a personal payback. Then again, after she released me because she "oh look, a bigger target," grabbed Kuei and did the same to him. So this isn't even personal, it's Imperial-Mandated payback.

A large fight broke out while the prisoners were trying to overcome a thin green line rapidly forming earth walls. Fireblasts struck outliers, the Three were tossing walls at people, and Azula and I left completely ignored. Out in the hallway, soldiers noticed Azula and I had to confirm, many times, “this is the Princess and I’m capturing her” to which she’d nod like she was answering a simple question of ‘did you have dinner yet?’ A whole entourage formed, voluntarily offering to give protection. They took her hands but let her walk freely. "And no killing her." I had to remind the man with the poking spear pointing at the Princess's well done hair.

The best part of all of this was after we left the Royal Palace. I informed her that “the Dai Li would be receiving you” and she broke her contemplating silence with screaming. “This man is nothing more than a plotter! He plotted to take the throne!” and the guards laughed. One aptly pointed out “Really? Which one ‘cause he runs the Earth Kingdom already.” But she didn’t stop. She had a goal and she'd pursue it. “You idiot! The Earth Kingdom throne! I gave it to him!” and the same guard countered her again. “Of course you did, you showed up with your dragon” and a second guard, a Royal Guard, finished his sentence. “And burned most of the nobility”. I don't think she even took their replies seriously. “Why does he _ have _ the throne?” and the ornately-dressed guard replied “because you burned the Palace and killed everyone else” and she groaned. She was _groaning_. "Your men are idiots. They need a education-" “Does Your Majesty want us to knock her out?” the Royal Guard on her left asked. “No, let her continue”. She scoffed. “Why does some fisherman’s son from the middle of nowhere even _ have _ that position? He’s a peasant. He lacks the divine right to rule” and a third guard from behind me responded. “His Imperial Majesty is married to Her Imperial Majesty and Her Imperial Majesty has the Mandate of the Spirits”. Azula broke her screaming, which I don't think was genuine, to laugh. A genuine laugh. _She found that funny, guard. It's not a good idea to humor Her Highness. _“That’s...that’s just self referential!” “What’s self-referential?” he asked. Before she could lecture him, a different guard jutted himself in and said “for all your ‘divine right’ you’re here and he’s there” and she breathed out hard enough to produce smoke. “Will you let me speak?” One said “No” and the group laughed. I was willing to let her have fun in her final moments of freedom. “I order you to let her speak! In the name of treating world leaders who surrender with respect! No interruptions!” And Azula gave me this oh-so-wonderful glare. It reminds me of the _last _time I was on the receiving end of that glare. Events that transpired so long ago, I didn't even have a title to my name. “See, he gets it”. “A warning, she loves storytelling” I told them. And they cracked up. _That wasn't a joke, you fools_.

“I know none of you peasants have ever been there-” “no interrupting!” I interrupted to halt their oncoming anger, “but he worked in Shirahama. He became friends with the Governor and the Governor's wife. The Governor trusted this man and what did he get? Your oh-so-Imperial 'Majesty' reported on the Governor’s corruption, sent the Fire Nation a letter and I received it. I found this town and removed the fat failure from his position. As for this majestically honorable man? He helped clean the city up. All his acquaintances happened to be corrupt officials. So they had to go. Then I came up with a war-winning plan. See, he likes the Fire Nation. What reasonable man wouldn’t?” Again, I interrupted her to go “let her finish”. She rolled her eyes as if I _didn't _have to interrupt. “So he had a political marriage to get to -you can thank me for suggesting he go in the right direction- and I had a war to win. As the Beifongs are an Imperial scion-”. “-what's a scion?” one less intelligent guard asked. “Stop interrupting!” came my response. “Anyways, he’d take the girl, go to the capital while I took my dragon, maybe you’ve seen him? and was going to burn down everyone else in line for the throne. Obviously, my unbeatable plan worked and that pansy Earth King was a total coward and abdicated without a fight. From there, Your so-called Majesty and I set out to write letters back and forth.” She saw the anger seething from some of the guards and went “okay, you can respond now”, because we weren't ordering her around, she was ordering us around. “Your Majesty, can’t we shut her up? She’s spouting nonsense!” one of the guards pleaded. “Well if she’s spouting nonsense, what is there to fear? Are none of you entertained by this?” but a couple guards chimed in. “So far it's a good story” “Yeah, I found it funny”. “Let her continue.” I commanded. She smiled. People prefer fantasy to harsh reality.

“So he and I planned everything. Well, no. I planned everything and he agreed because he knew what would happen when he didn't. I hated Shinji and Heiji, it was up to him which one he’d kill. Losing the eye was unintentionally but made him more heroic. And you dirt people love heroes. We agreed to burn down the Southern Water Tribe’s navy of incompetent peasants because it’d better both nations. He'd get dominion over the seas, I'd not have to worry about their fleet harassing my coast. We even met during Black Sun, I feigned ignorance because his sister was there. We agreed to make the final year a race. I was happy to lose the Colonies. They’ve given me nothing but trouble. I didn’t tell him about the airships, he didn’t tell me Uncle would chest-bump me and steal my dragon. I did tell him to kill Father.” but she was interrupted, yet again, by a guard. “That’s a good story...for a child's tale” and the crowd burst into laughter. “You lost your mind afterwards.” and he received lots of “that’s right”s. 

"But did I?" she asked them. Lots of head nods. "I warned them about the Earth Kingdom and it's militarization. They called me crazy. 'You lost us the war', they'd say. I don't know if I did. I did warn them to call for a ceasefire. They said they could hold for five years! Five years! I said 'I give us a single season', and of course I was right. I thought you guys would be here yesterday morning. I guess you got held up in traffic." the guards aptly asked "but then why not kill us?" "Why die for nothing when I can live for tomorrow's opportunity? While Zuzu enjoys a Palace filled with people who want him dead, I'll be living out my days under house arrest. That's what this man promised me." and the crowd laughed. They enjoyed a good story.

Four Dai Li agents arrived in front of our convoy and planted their fists in the ground. “That’s a great folk tale” the Royal Guard stated. She trembled as they gripped her hands with stone gloves. She screamed “No, you fools! It's all true!” but was carried up to a roof before she could finish her tirade against us. “So, who liked the story?” I shouted to the delighted mass. The group responded in the affirmative while I sheathed my blade. “Did any of you actually believe it?” “No" was all I heard. Azula’s screams dissipated into the distance. “Good. That's good. Now...who wants a whiskey?” and they cheered “Long live Her Imperial Majesty!” 

Raising the Flag:

I spent the evening at a tavern near the rim of the Royal City. I keep my word. One of the soldiers was an experienced drink mixer before joining the Imperial Army and he took to serving us. We spent far longer than we should’ve exchanging war stories and jokes. I refused to drink before the other twenty people who had accompanied me. And before _I _could drink, horns sounded and I -too loudly- went “Not again”. _Yes, again. _I got out of my seat and ran out the door, thanking the server and tossing him a Fire Nation silver piece I found on the body of some Home Guard soldier. “I wanted to have dinner with you” came the voice from the middle of the darkness. It was the voice of the Earth Queen. So we did. Then we went to sleep. All night, the constant drumming of artillery. Things were being blown up. The neverending march of columns of infantry, off to do something...somewhere. _Even after it all, spirits you firebenders are stubborn_. I fell out of bed courtesy her desire to practice metalbending. Upon asking about joining the final assault on what we assumed to be the last holdouts -because a war doesn't end until the last opponent is dead- she said “nah, I need you for practice”. She was alternating between grabbing my shoulder and manipulating a metal ball. I believe she was trying to make a statue of me, albeit smaller than I. “Hold still” she’d say. “I’m trying” “But you’re vibrating” “Not that I’m aware of” “You are, I feel you shaking right now." “I’m not” “You’re telling the truth, but I still sense that you are”. 

“Your Majesty!” Wuhan barged through the door, interrupting Her Imperial Majesty’s metalbending practice. When he arrived, she was working on my head, forming individual metal strands of hair to match mine. The metalbending was as fluid as waterbending, _ just as Master Ge mentioned _ . “What is it?” and she put the hand-held sculpture on a stone table. “The Palace” and he broke down, crying. I went over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. Assuming he was crying out of grief, “Did we get outflanked or something?” “No...we did it” he said between tears. “Well _ that’s _ specific” _ thanks Toph _ . “Let’s go look” I begged. “That’s a great idea-” _ Toph waved her hand in front of her face _ . “There might be some heads to crack” I remarked. _ Smash _. She was gone. Out the door. Riding an earth wave over there. Horns sounded and I was...here. I got Wuhan a cup of tea, offered him a bed to rest in and set off. 

As I was alone, I didn’t have to face a whole contingent of escorts. I hitched a ride on the back of one of our tanks over there. The high sky above us was a dark blue. _ Wait. Twilight? _ Lower to the ground, the sky was still filled with smoke and dust. Wounded were lying on the side of the road. Troops were still marching towards the Palace in column formation and my tank was stuck between two of these five by ten lines. I guess these troops didn’t hear the news yet? As we reached the large Palace walls, cheers of “Long live!” and “Ten Thousand Years!” made themselves known. I thanked the driver and walked into the grounds. A crowd had gathered. A single torchlight was waving itself back and forth from the top of the middle spire of the structure. Slightly above a torch and to the side, the Earth Kingdom flag. _We've...done it. We actually did it. _

I worked my way through the crowd. It was hard to speak as everyone was overtaken with punching the air and cheering “Ten Thousand Years!” Before I knew it, I found Toph. Correction, she popped out of the ground and grabbed me. “You, up there, now” and before I could ask what she wanted, I was being dragged towards the Palace. She dropped me on the ground in front of the main doors, stomped the ground and I felt _ wind _ . Looking up at the sky, “why is the torch approaching us?” “Because we’re going up” _ we’re going up. Of course we’re going up _ . _Rules of stairs don't apply to you, right, Toph?_ The cheering was getting _ louder _. “Here, have some railings”, a foot stomp, and an earth wall Toph’s height surrounded our circular pillar. 

We reached the height of the torch and the three men standing in there -one holding a torch- were rightfully surprised. They were standing inside an alcove with what appeared to be a staircase behind them. The two kowtowed. The flag in question was hanging from a _ ji _ that was stuck into the ground using earthbending. Toph hopped over to them, leaving me isolated on this stone pillar. “We’re honored to-” “Oh stop the formal stuff” she said, happy as a young Earth Queen who just pacified the world could be. The trio looked at her, then themselves, and were at a loss for words. “ _ Kyoshi _ , give a speech or something!” “I’m-” and she stomped the ground, shaking the stone pillar. “Fine” _ don’t you grin, Toph. _ “Now get over here”. I pointed at the obstacle, lapsing to recognize that she won’t see what I’m pointing at. “There’s a gap”. “Jump across the gap,” she said in her teacher-tone. “It’s a gap" I repeated. “Oh-” and an earth fist grabbed me, “-don’t make a fool of me”, “This isn’t necesssssssary!” the fist tossed me over to the group. Had she lost her grip, I'd be Kyoshi Islander paste. The two non-torch wielders caught me. I looked _up_ at a looming Toph and her looming tone of disappointment. “So. You’re here. Speech!” and she picked me up by my collar. One foot stomp sent the earth pillar vanishing back into what it came from. For my sake, she gave me a railing to rest upon. I looked out east. The sky was getting light. _ Its morning _. The crowd was a set of torchlights. I took my time with this speech. I had mentally planned one for weeks.

“Soldiers of the Earth Kingdom!” I began. My voice seemed to echo out to the volcano rim itself. The crowd punched the air and the torches waved back and forth. I took the _ ji _ out of the ground and hung it over the railing, to the army’s applause. “The seat of the Fire Nation has been captured! The Fire Nation has been utterly smashed! A few pockets of resistance may lie across the city, but I trust that the Imperial Army will, in the words of Her Imperial Majesty, bash some sense into them. Today will mark the greatest victory in the history of the Earth Kingdom, and the final defeat of the Fire Nation!” and I gave them time to applause. Toph was dangling her legs beneath the railing and enjoying the loud noise, I guess. I don't know, I just think she likes loud exploding things or loud shouting things. I think of it as akin to us liking beautiful paintings.

“One hundred years ago, Fire Lord Sozin personally led his forces against the great city of Taku. He harnessed the power of his namesake’s comet to strike hard and fast against the Earth Kingdom. He declared that the Earth Kingdom would fall. Years passed. Those who followed Sozin effortlessly defeated the Southern Water Tribe and blockaded the Northern one. We did not budge! Generations of firebenders declared that they would be the ones to see a Fire Nation flag over the Imperial Palace. And generations of firebenders came up against our glorious army and fell!”

“We dedicate this victory to the four generations of men and women who came before us. When the Fire Nation came to their doorstep, they refused to surrender. Armed with nothing but farming tools, they fought back. The hundred-year-long struggle for survival has ended in victory over those who wished us annihilated!” The sky was getting light enough to see individual hats. Lots of hats. And green headbands. And tousled hair.

“Soldiers! The greatest war in the Earth Kingdom’s history is over! We congratulate all of you for bringing Us this victory!” and the crowd chanted “Long live Her Imperial Majesty!” “Glory to the brave defenders of the Kingdom! Eternal glory to our ancestors who fell!” and the crowd punched the air in approval.

"Long after our generation has passed from the mortal realm, the bards will sing of these days! The Avatar and the Fire Prince were absent. _Busy!_" and the crowd let out some chuckles. "The Water Tribes...where were they? One holed in the north, one ignored our war for seventy years!" and a few laughs, but mostly stern silence. "But the Earth Kingdom...This war began with the Earth Kingdom, and it ended with the Earth Kingdom. Our lands were trampled. Our homes were looted. Our families burned. And the Earth Kingdom came back from the brink! We never gave in!"

"A unified Earth Kingdom will never break! Ten Thousand Years!" and I punched the air. And the soldiery roared in applause.

They chanted “Ten Thousand Years!” and I got a shoulder punch from Toph. Just a shoulder punch. A simple act of affection that carries more weight than any other, solely due to whom is giving it.

Long Divided, Must Unite:

The battle for Caldera was nearly over. Pockets of resistance were being smashed. Most of the Fire Nation’s high command had surrendered to the west. As per Prince Zuko’s wishes, they would be pardoned upon his arrival. He was an idiot. He was going to pardon a court of people who wanted him dead. Who wanted the Avatar dead. Who respected Azulon, feared Ozai, and plotted against Azula. The three men who had hung the flag from the Palace would be given three large mansions and accompanying estates along the fertile eastern coast. We’re still assembling the pieces of what had happened on the Fire Nation’s side. It's hard to consult dead people for their accounts.

From what surrendered officers told us, Bujing had gone mad. He believed that he was _ winning _ and that this was a minor assault. He believed that the Fire Nation was making great advancements across the Mo Ce. He was sending phantom armies, five hundred soldiers instead of his imaginary five thousand, in suicidal charges against our positions. He was declaring any generals who didn’t win ‘traitors’ and had them executed. Except, most of the high command had fled. Most of the officers who did stay were executed by Bujing’s Imperial Firebender loyalists. Because someone was to blame for his phantom forces being defeated by our real forces? And those people started with the lowest level officers, until Generals of the Fire Nation were executed by a squad of Imperial Firebenders. The Lower City was abandoned or nearly abandoned. Civilians were fleeing west or in any other direction, “afraid to surrender to the Imperial Army”. Apparently these civilians believed us a band of murderers, looters and those who violate others. I'm sure their children will be told how evil we were. _Were we? I executed anyone I caught doing anything._ When our tanks reached the Royal City, much of the civilian population still inside flung themselves from the volcano rim. Death before dishonor. Only when Fong’s tanks reached the wall of the Royal Palace did Bujing ask “what is that noise?” and proceed to completely lose it. He ordered “honorable death before surrender” and refused to “be captured by those dirt peasants”.

Toph now sits on the Dragon Throne, picking her toes on the Dragon Throne, rubbing dirt in the cushions of the Dragon Throne, running her black hair through the Dragon Throne. I was wandering down the halls of the Royal Palace, admiring the architecture of all the golden dragon motifs when I was tapped on the shoulder. Spinning around, I was greeted with a smile and “Morning, descendant of Kyoshi!”

Long United, Must Divide:

We had a conversation from the same alcove as where I gave a speech a few hours earlier.

“Son, I told you we’d meet again.” and his lips parted to a thin smile.

“Well, we did. Many times” 

“Caving heads in doesn’t count," he said, laughing.

“So what are you here for” I asked the man who was downing a flask of whatever he was carrying.

“What else, helping the descendants of Kyoshi!” and he buckled in his laughter.

“Why now?”

“Because, son, I bring a warning” and his voice returned to that ancient, elderly, tone I remembered from our first meeting. His _warning _voice.

“What warning?”

“As surely as the sun rises in the east,” he said, pointing at the orange sun directly ahead of us, “it too will set.”

“So?” I turned to him.

“So enjoy your peace now, because war will return."

"Would you like to be specific?" I half joked.

"Of course, grab a seat" and he pulled a piece of the wall off and fashioned it into a stone seat. Then another, so the two of us could sit down.  
  
"This Avatar may not pose a threat, but the next Avatar? I've seen sixteen Water Avatars. Each one has brought chaos. The next Avatar will grow up in a world of bloodbenders and metalbenders. The last Water Avatar was from the North, this one will be from the South."

"There's no southern waterbenders. The famed Southern Style was annihilated. Azulon and Ozai made sure of that." I replied

"Does it matter?" he grabbed my shoulder "the Avatar can take a boat to the Northern Water Tribe. And he or she will _grow up_ on stories of 'the Tyrants of Ba Sing Se'. For history is but a perspective. A point of view."

"But we are not tyrants! We did not kill without mercy, nor have we driven anyone to extinction."

"And you're going to reason with a waterbender? A Water Avatar has the least control of his or her emotions. They make the most arrogant of Avatars."

"What, and you want us to try and assassinate a baby?"

"No, no. The Avatar is a defender of the people. Even this idiot who currently flies around. The people naturally look up to him. He gives them a feeling no amount of gold or tanks can provide."

"So we're screwed?"

"I didn't say that."

"You make it sound like no matter what we do, the Earth Kingdom will collapse."

This set him off into a tirade of laughter. "My son, the Earth Kingdom can never last. Even as we speak, there are those who wish you off the throne."

"But we unified the Earth Kingdom!" I pleaded like a idiotic child that, compared to him, I most definitely am.

"You didn't unify anything! You traveled around in a golden box while a bunch of elite earthbenders told you how excellent you are!" If anyone else dared say that, they'd be executed. But when he yells, he summons the voice of an ancient spirit of death. A deep voice, deeper than any chasm or rift. A voice that haunts people to their graves. The same voice that could choose to be humorous.

"So all our work was for nothing?" _Because if it was..._

"No. I didn't say that. Your Kingdom is still corrupt. Still full of officials who barely know how to read or write. Still full of selfish fools who dabble around, killing each other more often than their enemies."

"So what did we do?"

"You turned Ba Sing Se into the jewel of the world."

"Is that it?"

"You gave a bunch of Fire Nation Colonials a better education than half your government."

"Are we supposed to rescind that?"

Summoning that prophetic voice again, he asked "Remember what Azula told you long ago?"

"Why would I?"

"The Colonies bring nothing but trouble." he said in a perfect Azula voice, waving his pale hand around in a fake kind of vanity.

"How would you know that? That was a conversation she had...after executing Kozuke...and dragging me in for...questioning. And before she executed that...official...the Garrison Officer, Oda...with a lightning bolt" _You. How dare you make me remember these things_.

"She's right, you know. The Colonies will not remain yours."

"Then where will they go?"

"Your Majesty, in bringing technology to the people, you have given them freedom. In giving them freedom..." and his prophetic voice resumed as he leaned in close enough I could smell his mossy breath, he looked me dead in the eye and went "the age of the Monarchies will end."

After he backed away, I asked another question. "Over? So we are fighting a downhill battle?"

He laughed. "Between the Water Avatar and the advancements, I give you fifty years."

"But...how? Why?"

"Because once people have freedom, they rally around the Avatar. The beacon of the world. Whether he's competent or not doesn't matter. Titles give you power, you'd know that better than anyone."

"And once they have freedom...they see no need for a ruler?" I asked him.

"That's right."

"And what would you have us do?"

"Unify the Earth Kingdom. Don't talk about it. Do it. Haven't you spent a year reading?"

"I have, Master Ge. I know my Beihai from my Gaoling and my Liaoyang from my Dongfang."

He smiled. "Good, good. After you deal with the issues that affect Ba Sing Se, you must address these commanderies and their issues."

"And where will you be? Will you help?"

He got up and laughed his booming laugh. "Of course I will, I will forever serve the Line of Kyoshi!"

"Would you want me to name you Imperial Tutor?"

And now he _kowtowed_, after recently verbally scalding me. The guts on this man matches the length of his long white hair. "I would be honored."

"How about this. I appoint you my head advisor. You have thousands of years behind you, there is no man who knows more."

"Except the Avatar." and he laughed, but this was a _serious _laugh.

"In the name of Her Imperial Majesty, I will have you named Imperial Tutor!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Ten Thousand Years to the two of you!" and I let him rise from his kowtow.

"Anything else? I have business to conduct" I said quite determined. Scared of him possibly putting a spike through my head, but determined nonetheless.

"Lao Beifong was right, you know."

"Right about..." I stopped myself.

"You and Toph, there's some strong earthbender blood in there. Your descendants will be the greatest earthbenders of their age. Behind their mom, at least."

"How do you know what he said."

"You just admitted it" he said, as sharp as his beard is pointed.

“But..."

"I must be going." and he ran for the door.

_ I still have _ _ questions_. _About the Avatar. The potential of the Avatar. The Earth Kingdom. Governing. Everything!_

"Master Lao Ge! Wait!" I got off my seat and went for the stairs. I could barely navigate in the darkness.

I heard his clanking stop, and his voice echo from somewhere beneath me. I just had to make it there. "I will see you again, Mori, son of Tao the Second, daughter of Koko the Sixth, daughter of Hania, daughter of Koko the Fourth, daughter of Toshi, daughter of Tao, son of Koko, daughter of Kyoshi!"

I ran after him.

I ran after a completely different prodigy in a completely different Palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was Azula telling the truth? Was she lying? Inside every deception lies a truth. 
> 
> All that is a certainty is that whoever our young Mori is now is far from the man he was a year ago. (Just like me, writing this, is much different from when I began writing this in September)
> 
> Read on! A sequel series is coming up just after this one ends.
> 
> Author's Notes:  
This is the first time we hear the Consort's name, Mori. He abandoned the personal name because he started picking up titles as fast as Sokka picked up women. Mori was also the name of the D&D character this man is based on.
> 
> Because this entire plot. Three months of writing, a month of editing, and a month of first drafting for a abandoned storyline that originally followed Chapter 20, all based on one D&D character who's first action was to toss a whiskey bottle at the Governor of a city we were recieving a quest in, causing the GM to switch the entire storyline and make us side with the Fire Nation. This proto-Consort had most of the same traits, except he was an earthbender. More on all of this in the FAQ section of the next chapter (aka the finale)


	66. And You Gotta Deal With It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final, very short, chapter.  
Things end just as they began; with Toph sitting on a Throne.

HIM Entry LXVI:

I tried to give chase but he must’ve walked through a wall or something. As quickly as he arrived, Lao Ge vanished. 

Long Live the Empress:

The Royal Guard were cleaning up the throne room. It wasn’t even ours. Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors stood side-by-side with Wuhan, the Three, and the Royal Guard in front of us. Suki at my side, Wuhan at Toph’s. Prince Zuko arrived atop Druk, escorted by Iroh, Jeong-Jeong and Piandao. They paid their respects to Her Imperial Majesty. "The Victory of the Hundred Year War" was the concluded upon title.

The Fire Sages were confused as how to address Zuko but settled on “Your Royal Highness”. 

His coronation will be done tomorrow or as soon as possible, once they find the Fire Lord clothing that is. 

Zuko appointed Iroh his advisor, High Sage Shyu will coronate him and Lady Mai will become the Fire Lady. Not today, but soon. Surviving ministers asked him all kinds of coronation related questions and he responded as formally as he could while also suffering from shock. “I’m...the Fire Lord” he’d mutter. Toph and I would discuss, in whispers, a new title. We both agreed Earth Queen was getting old and as Toph was the greatest earthbender of all time, deserved something  _ higher _ . She had me inscribe the title changes into a scroll and stamped it with the Imperial Seal. "This is for spending a year doing everything I asked you to" _shoulder punch_.  


Shyu brought up his hands to bow to Her Imperial Majesty. He requested “Would the Earth Queen please allow His Royal Highness to sit upon the Dragon Throne?”. Toph laughed, for that was no longer her title. She pulled her finger out of her ear and went;

“I’m the Earth Empress, and you gotta deal with it!” 

Long Live the Earth Empress! 

The First Earth Empress!

Long Live Her Imperial Majesty, the First Earth Empress, once the Fifty Third Earth Queen, the Lady of Gaoling, the Blind Bandit, the Daughter of the Spirits, the Liberator of Ba Sing Se, the Reformer, the Inventor of Metalbending, the Slayer of Fire Lord Ozai, the Victor of the Hundred Year War, Wielder of the Mandate of the Spirits and Empress of Ten Thousand Years!  


Long Live Toph! 

Ten Thousand Years!

Now, where's my whiskey?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you. Thank you all. I'm speechless. I know this seems like a short chapter but it + all other questions you did and didn't ask will be answered in the FAQ next time.
> 
> This concludes the prequel to a series I'm writing that, at only twenty chapters, is almost as long as this entire work.
> 
> Be sure to be on the lookout for my sequel series! Will be posting today or tomorrow.


	67. Infrequently Asked Questions + Thank You!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's a FAQ chapter. No Mori-arration. Contains lots of meta questions alongside some plot-questions that I may never have resolved. Bonus: Hints at future work. 
> 
> More may be added in future.
> 
> Sequel Series:   
https://archiveofourown.org/works/22805290/chapters/54499294

FAQ:

Q: How much cactus juice did you drink to write this fic?

A: I see you're starting with the real questions. Answer, a lot.

Q: Why did you spend x amount of time to write a fic that nobody every thought of or asked for?

A: Great question! Answer, I had a scenario in my head and I ran with it.

With these two out of the way: Let's get chronological.

Q: Who is Mori? Can you give us any meta-backstory on where this character came from? What's his origins?

A: Half a year ago, my friends and I sat down to play a game of D&D on Roll20. The game was set during the first days of the Hundred Year War. Each of us took hours to develop a complex character with a personality and his or her own goals. We were dropped into a Earth Kingdom town. My character was a man named Mori, named after Mori Motonari; the Sengoku Jidai era Daimyo. He was an earthbender, a Kyoshi Islander, and a vice-Magistrate. IRL, I had left for a few minutes to go get something to drink. When I returned, our party was in this tavern. I assumed this was some kind of optional thing and tossed my whiskey flask at the questgiver.

The GM had to completely reinvent the story due to my completely random, spontaneous, action. We were chased out of town by Earth Kingdom guards and before we knew it we were in the Fire Nation Army. This GM was going to have us meet young Azulon at one point but the game was abandoned because everyone had lives.

This was the core character: A guy who loves whiskey, fights, and Kyoshi Island. He was almost self-aware of the world he lives in. Specifically, his knack for seeing overpowered people doing overpowered things (back then, it was Comet-enhanced firebenders).

Q: How did Proto-Mori evolve into this OC?

A: First, the earthbending had to go. I loved the first few minutes of Sokka's Master when Sokka watches all these overpowered benders stomping around and he's just watching. It's a great perspective and a reminder of the power level of the world of Avatar. People can train for years with swords and bows and some thirteen year old summons a giant hurricane. Second, I solidified his role as sidekick. In the original D&D game, he was going to be the terrible earthbender on the team who happens to have lots of connections. The moment I realized he was a sidekick, I knew exactly who I wanted to be the true main character of this story.

Q: Why Toph? How did she fit into your cactus-juiced laced story?

A: Why not? Who doesn't love the plucky young blind earthbender? I always found the concept of royal or holy blood something...enticing. I figured the Beifongs are probably related to royalty as would explain their prominence. Likewise, a descendant of Kyoshi would have her badass blood in his veins. From there, the storybeat of an arranged marriage was the next logical step. Mori claims Toph rescued herself, she claims she rescued herself, we have no idea. All I know is there was lots of whiskey, scheming and tunneling.

Q: What's the deal with Azula? What's her relationship with the OC?

A: Can't spoil much as it'll be explored in my sequel series. She did meet him in Shirahama, the city he worked in. As for the rest of it? She did attack Ba Sing Se with her two generals, and she did kill Long Feng. I don't believe that the two had some kind of international overseas secret messaging service. Too many people would be made aware of it. That said, she knows him well from Shirahama.

Q: About Azula's attack...

A: Azula is cold, calculated, rational, almost perfect. If ATLA was rated M, she'd be incinerating everyone in her path. This was going to be a deliberate move to break the Earth Kingdom's back. She timed it to be on New Year's. The ultimate moral breaker. I don't believe that someone as wise as her would take over the Earth Kingdom. She'd know that nobody could possibly hold all that land except a Earth Monarch. And a puppet ruler would be seen as a puppet ruler. If she caused the Earth Kingdom to collapse of its own volition, warlords will be too busy squabbling to form a resistance against the Fire Nation. If she took Ba Sing Se and waved a Fire Nation flag from the top of the Royal Palace, she'd face a bloody guerilla war that she has no chance of winning.

Q: Why didn't she kill Toph, Mori, or both of them, especially if she knew Mori beforehand?

A: Unless you knew Toph, she seemed like the perfect incompetent ruler. She's young and blind. And Mori? He's one man. He's as alien to Ba Sing Se as Azula is. She likely thought the two would get coup'ed in five minutes. Sure, he might be a decent low-level adminstrator but the Earth Kingdom is...the Earth Kingdom. It can't compare. Even ruling Ba Sing Se is a insurmountable task.

Q: All these early chapters don't feel as fleshed out, will they be?

A: Possibly. My sequel series is an encyclopedia compared to this one. As Mori grew in knowledge of events, his writing grew longer and more complicated.

Q: Why is Mori so stupidly loyal?

A: That's a cornerstone of his personality. Kyoshian Ethics, or so I call them. He's loyal to the bitter end towards his family. She's his queen and also his beloved. No matter how idiotic, he will do whatever she commands. There's a less romantic reason, too. If he defies her, then the Kingdom will defy her. Because her power is only derived if everyone believes she is the Wielder of the Mandate of the Spirits. He has to make sacrifices to ensure the Kingdom does. He's stuck. At least, he will always have her affection to come home to.

Q: Why does Toph sometimes sit back and do nothing?

A: Neutral Jing. I set this up for dozens of chapters and the payoff is when she kills Ozai.

Q: But...Mori lost an eye because she did nothing.

A: What you said is factually correct. But what good is charging firebenders with the massive amount of seismic sense-screwing chaos all around them? Plus, not everyone brings their A-game, all the time. A fun idea I toss around at times: sleep-deprived characters and their stupidity

Q: How come Mori's loss of an eye doesn't have X consequence?

A: He adapts to it.

Q: You have chapters like "Toph's Grand Reformations" which in retrospect seem to have little-to-no effect on the world.

A: See a section titled Lao Ge. TLDR, they have an effect, but much smaller than Mori thought because of the EK's size.

Q: Why did Toph sail north to get seal jerky?

A: Because she wanted to.

Q: What happened at the North Pole that we cut away from?

A: The two shared a fur-lined robe to maintain body heat.

Q: Isn't the Avatar going to go into the Avatar State once he finds out about the North?

A: No spoilers, but remember that history is told by the victors. And remember that the Avatar is ignorantly incompetent. Kindhearted, nice, well-meaning. And gullible.

Q: So...the North makes Mori and Toph tyrants, right?

A: Not really. The Northern Water Tribe is a bunch of people who got what was coming to them. They are chauvinist _ and _isolationist. While the Earth Kingdom burned, they sat inside their fortified walls. 

Q: Was the North genocided?

A: No. The largest city in the North was sacked. The rest of the tundra and its villages are fine. And there's lots of villages. And tundra.

Q: Did the Southern Water Tribe just get driven to near-extinction?

A: No, but they lost about half their fleet and many of their most veteran warriors.

Q: Where do you pull these numbers from? And why not share them back then?

A: I have a massive, in depth, world map of Avatar courtesy of a CK2 mod called Avatar Four Nations.

https://www.moddb.com/mods/avatar-the-four-nations

The creators are extremely historically accurate (in terms of worldbuilding) and I use their maps, population sizes (not actual population but levies per county) among other things to help with my current writing. They deserve all the credit, I simply play in their sandbox. I didn't know this mod existed months ago. Had I, Records would be as detailed as my upcoming work.

The Southern Water Tribe's Navy has still been crippled. The North was still sacked. These are still major losses. They just aren't world-ending because the world of Avatar is _ massive _. One city is not an entire country.

Q: Why did the EK Navy stay back? Was Toph betraying her alliance?

A: She was fulfilling her end of the bargain. The Water Tribe would make the landing, the Earth Kingdom would land and hold the city. The Water Tribe Navy massively blundered. 

Q: Why didn't the EK Navy rescue the SWT Navy?

A: In Toph's words, "my people first". Kyoshi Ethics returns again.

Q: Is the Avatar an idiot?

A: No, Aang's just an idealist. He thinks he can resolve problems peacefully. And he gets it between the eyes.

Q: Did you dumb down the Avatar/why is the Avatar a parody of himself?

A: This applies to much of the fic. Aang wasn't meant to be a parody. He's meant to be himself, without Toph's training. Each of his masters gave him lessons on fighting and of the three, Toph gave him that tough killer instinct. No teacher-student relationship, no lessons. This shows that without Toph (and a case could be made for Zuko or Katara) Aang would not be the mature young man he was when he faced Ozai.

Q: The Protectorates vanished after five minutes. You set up an opponent and got rid of them. Why?

A: You want bloody wars with bandits? Stick around for my future fic because we've got lots of those. As for the Protectorate, it's because the battles took place beyond Mori's first person perspective. We also do get some screentime with Hong.

Q: Why is powered flight invented so quickly?

A: This is a valid criticism. Perhaps the biggest moment (and first) of suspension of disbelief. I had a explanation then and still do. The Mechanist was a inventor, and Teo and his friends all spent months if not years in the skies. With the invention of the engine, it's only a matter of time for someone to get the bright idea. Recall that we are on the cusp of industrial revolution. Furthermore, they surely get boatloads of funding from Toph because she loves progress.

Q: You invented biplanes in like five seconds. Does this mean the sequel will be in a modern setting? Are we going to get racecars and Warhammer 40K tanks?

A: No. In fact, technology does not progress beyond these early inventions because benders are prominent and serve a prominent role and people don't invent things unless there's a necessity.

We will get lots of tanks but not much advancement.

Q: So you're saying everything will grind to a halt?

A: Yes and no. Once the war ends, its back to nonsensical bureaucracy. And its very hard to get things invented when you have to go through 50 miles of bureaucrats.

Q: Why is it easier to have inventions during wartime?

A: Because the Hundred Year War was a war of survival. It was the Great War of National Defense. To history fans, it was akin to the Great Patriotic War. Everyone's focused on trying to stop the Fire Nation.

Q: Why isn't Zuko killed on sight?

A: Toph pardons him. The people won't forgive him but they also won't go against their Queen. If it seems like she's collaborating with him, however, then she'll be viewed as having lost the Mandate. More on this in the sequel.

Q: What kind of cactus juice did you drink to inspire you for Sokka and Suki's scene at the end of "Field Trip?"

A: The best kind. I loved the idea of the two of them being in love and also being so...entranced that they ignore the rest of Team Avatar. It gave me the opportunity to write a couple character's responses. Mori doesn't care because his cousin can handle herself. Toph is crushing on Sokka. Zuko is almost detached from it all because he's Zuko and he's pretty mature. And Katara is losing her mind.

Q: Why don't we get more Team Avatar?

A: There's so, so, so many Team Avatar fics. Lots of really good ones too. For every good one there's like ten to twenty smut fics so google with caution. This perspective, this story, is unique and strange and nonsensical.

Q: Will we get more Team Avatar?

A: YES! But not traditional Team Avatar. Team Avatar World Leader Edition. With all the shenanigans that ensue.

Q: What happened to Mayor Morishita?

A: You know, it's really unclear.

Q: What happened to Kori Morishita?

A: Probably locked up in Lake Laogai. Good thing there's no independent movements using her as a martyr/figurehead to drive their rebellions. Right?

Q: Will we get more Melon Lord?

A: One day. Being Earth Queen is like being Melon Lord except unironically.

Q: What's with you and biplanes/monoplanes/flying caskets?

A: People I know. Pilots, pilots everywhere! Also I love the Great War (aka WWI) and that time period.

Q: Sozin's Comet was insane. Biplanes versus Zeppelins?

A: Nobody ever did it before. And yes, this is perhaps the second moment you've got to suspend your disbelief. Enjoy a battle that has NEVER been done before.

Q: Why is Mori so good at flying?

A: He practiced but also because, from those I know, flying a plane is somewhat similar to practicing martial arts. Or dueling. I'm oversimplifying it, but both require the same kind of patience and focus. If Suki has a knack for driving a tank or flying a blimp, why can't he get a knack for this? Oh, and he's not perfect at flying. He gets better and better.

Q: Why did they fly against giant, firebreathing, airships?

A: It was a preemptive strike meant to stop Ozai's offensive. They also lacked recon.

Q: If Ozai couldn't possibly cross the entire EK in one day, as Toph says, why didn't Toph go back to Ba Sing Se and wait it out?

A: If she abandoned her people, she'd instantly lose the Mandate of the Spirits.

Q: Why is "Aftermath" so clunky?

A: It was the hardest chapter for me to write, no I don't recall why.

Q: How is the Imperial Parade organized so quickly?

A: The trains run on time, for once.

Q: Where do all those vehicles go?

A: Campaigns. Many of them come to help out in future battles.

Q: How is it that the Imperial Army can both march in formation and is also miserably incompetent?

A: Fong is showing off his best troops. A minority of units in the Imperial Army are battle-hardened and competent. The rest are tangentially loyal to their Queen because she punches people in the face.

Q: Why did we rush through Chin, or Kyoshi Island?

A: That happened to be what little Mori recorded then. In my sequel, I get much more encyclopedic about the Earth Kingdom. So encyclopedic I have to write a glossary for future use.

Q: What's up with Lao Ge?

A: He has the "Line of Kyoshi"'s best interests at heart. He's also a alcoholic immortal assassin who doesn't take anything seriously because he's seen thousands of years of history. That said, he's genuinely trying to help Mori (and Suki).

Q: Why don't we get more Oyaji, since its revealed he raised Mori?

A: We will get more Oyaji in future. I prefer to tell Mori's insane backstory through exposition anecdotes.

Q: Is Mori a badass fighter or not?

A: He's a decent duelist and quite good with the weapons he trains with. Could be better. He'll never be as good as Suki and she'll rub that in his face until the end of time. He's proud of his cousin. She's always got his back. Oh, and of course, the two can't compare to Toph.

Q: The Imperial Siege Cannon is a bit...spontaneous.

A: That's right. It's also the perfect symbol of the Earth Kingdom. Massive, powerful, takes fifty years to move ten paces down the street. This is the third "suspension of disbelief" and again, its for the purposes of entertainment.

Q: Will all journies across the Earth Kingdom be this fast in future?

A: Depends. If the lines are clear then yes. If not then no.

Q: We seem to be skimming across swaths of Earth Kingdom land with barely any exposition.

A: At the time, I didn't put much thought into it. The sequel has much, much, more exposition.

Q: But doesn't that retcon these writings?

A: It does. To explain them, think of it as Mori being more tunnel-visioned during the time of war. As his knowledge expands, his writing expands.

Q: What will become of the Colonies. They seem to love the changes so will they be annexed?

A: Are things ever that easy? No, there's lots of factions at play for these rich industrial cities.

Q: Why are there fifty Osakan rebel groups?

A: Aside from references to Monty Python and the Life of Brian's Judean People's Fronts, it reflects the many different minor factions that exist and squabble over such important centers of commerce.

Q: Will any of these rebel groups return?

A: These factions? Unlikely. However more interest groups akin to them will return in the future, run by different people but with similar motives.

Q: Did you kill off a stereotypical YA group of rebels? Why?

A: I did and I'm proud of it. Why? Because they are idiots and this is a great time to showcase their stupidity. Idealism doesn't get results.

Q: Is Admiral Jee badass?

A: Yes, he is. His troops are also pretty great.

Q: Will we get more of him?

A: Yes, we will. He has his own political ideology and being named Admiral of a modern fleet tends to make people ambitious. 

If anyone knows who Yuan Shikai is, Jee is quite similar.

Q: The Meeting of the Fate of the Colonies, see "On Colonies and Progress", was indecisive. Was it meant to be filler?

A: No, it's meant to show that such massive world matters can't be resolved in five minutes. There's still lessons to get out of it. Hundreds of people with their own self-interests who currently are loyal to Toph. But their loyalties flipped once before so we have no idea what'll come next. Wink. Wink.

Q: Why is Sokka so...opportunistic...for Suki?

A: I took the show's running joke of the two of them being a stereotypical couple and injected it with some cactus juice. They are still in love, now they just get embarrassed much more. 

Q: Will you ever tone that relationship down?

A: It'll always be a running joke of mine.

Q: What was the point of Aang's beach meeting?

A: It helps set up future plot points. Really big ones. It shows that oftentimes, a reckless spontaneous stupid decision can have big consequences.

Q: Did Ba Sing Se build thousands of apartment buildings overnight?

A: Yes, they did. Due to the influx of refugees who have become permanent residents and a push for earthbenders to build more.

Q: Does this mean Ba Sing Se will look like a modern city in a few years?

A: No, it won't. It'll look like Victorian London at best.

Q: Are the Middle Ringers going to become a new power faction?

A: Possibly. The rise of the bourgeois, this close to the center of the Earth Kingdom (arguably the world due to how important the EK is), poses a possible long term threat for the Imperials.

Q: What happened to all the nobles? Didn't Toph have them all killed?

A: No, Mori was being a bit dramatic. She had the ones who conspired to kill her arrested. There's still thousands and thousands of members of nobility.

Q: But didn't you say that Azula roasted much of the Earth Kingdom's nobility?

A: Yes. I did. Clarification: She killed lots of the highest-ranked nobility. The Governors, Army Officers, etc. The low level nobles who couldn't get into Kuei's party didn't get in.

Q: What will the nobility do in future if they've been reduced in power?

A: They still hold lots of power due to administrative experience. Toph and Mori still need to replace corrupt officials with loyal ones. And not every nobleman or woman is 'evil.'

Q: Will we see more Mori poetry? Also, his poetry is awful.

A: He's a terrible poet. It won't stop someone from pressing him into learning because she wants to hear his hilariously pitiful attempts at it.

Q: Will we see more Toph on cactus juice?

A: Yes. We will. There will be times when Toph craves the stuff. She and Sokka might even challenge each other to a cactus juice drink off and night out on the town. Mori refuses such beverages but will end up escorting her around. Barfights will happen and Katara will be _ disappointed _. 

Q: What was your inspiration for Of Badgermoles and Dragons?

A: That was the original name for this 20 chapter series. Its a inside joke to myself, a callback to my past writings, and it sounded so poetic and uptight it was perfect.

Q: Why all the...adult...scenes in Of Badgermoles and Dragons?

A: It's a adult-rated parody of events. Toph loves it because she loves everyone else's disgust. Everyone else reacts as you'd expect.

Q: Is this a portend to things to come?

A: This series. Will. Never. Be. Smut. Ever.

Ever.

Q: Will you have more of Pu-On Tim?

A: Yup. He's going to make more plays and Toph might even attend some of them.

Q: Will Katara ever see Actress Katara?

A: Not only will she see Actress Katara, she's going to stumble in on a porn parody of Katara and Aang's relationship.

Q: Wait what?

A: Yes. Pu-On Tim will set out to ship everyone with everyone else. If the ship could exist, he's probably directing a play of the two, ahem, interacting.

Q: Wait so is this sequel a crack?

A: No but Pu-On Tim definitely is. I always wanted to parody people's favorite ships and now I can.

Q: _ Grabs pitchfork, torch. _

A: I've got nothing against you and your ships. You do you. Oh, and feel free to suggest ships in the comments below that you _ really _want to see be done.

Pu-On does whatever makes money. If shipping the Fire Lord, one world leader, with a Princess of the Water Tribes, another world leader, gets massive audiences, then why wouldn't he do it?

Q: What's the point of "On Rulership", the chapter?

A: It gives us some insight into Mori's mind and his ethics.

Q: Isn't he simplifying the Earth Kingdom?

A: Yes. The Earth Kingdom is very very diverse and this is deliberately written from the perspective a individual confided to the walls of Ba Sing Se. In short, "us" inside the walls versus "them" outside. Mori isn't that stupid but this is like a beginner's guide to rule. It gives a hint that behind the possibly competent duelist and his shenanigans, there's some intelligence in there. He did spend a long time in the Archives.

Q: Will there be more Imperial Earth Academy for Girls?

A: The building itself? No. But women in the government? Yup.

Q: The chapter on drawing up the new Map of the World, what was the conclusion?

A: The Earth Kingdom's going to set up garrisons everywhere. Otherwise there's almost no point in holding subpolar mountain ranges.

Q: Are the Air Temples deserted?

A: Nope. Only the peaks. The Northern one has Earth Kingdom low level officers/magistrates setting up Colonies in the foothills. The Eastern and Southern have Earth Islanders inhabiting the coasts. This will become important in future because these people are completely detached from the Monarchy. They're also not going to easily kowtow to some airbender showing up.

Q: The ending of the chapter made it seem like conflict will brew in the Colonies.

A: Because it will. The Colonies are a hotbed of ethnic groups and new ideas.

Q: You set up all these forces for the final battle but the final battle was completely different. Why?

A: War Plans NEVER go as they are supposed to. It's not me trying to raise the stakes, its a fact of this era of conflict. It makes battles all the more chaotic and makes victories all the more heroic because "he accomplished this with half the men he was given".

Q: The Fire Nation has JETS?

A: They do. Fourth suspension of disbelief, but based on the Messerschmidt Komet design. If firebenders can produce condensed flame/leg jets and powered flight has been invented, the pressure of war could create such insane aircraft designs.

Q: So you just skipped a couple generations of aviation?

A: Considering earthbenders were one man artillery pieces, don't look at our world and Avatar as parallels. Different Nations produce different technology and different means to similar ends.

Q: Will jets replace biplanes?

A: No. Only expert firebenders can use them. Bujing had lots of Imperial Firebenders at his command. Had.

Q: Why set up Mori and his flying skills if he doesn't use them in the final battle?

A: He launches the world's first torpedo against a Fire Navy blockade. And its within one of the final chapters. I'd consider that close enough.

Q: What happened to the Fire Navy?

A: Only a couple ships sided with Bujing. Most deserted to join a "resistance" that looked to put Zuko on the throne.

Q: What happened to the civilian fleet?

A: Some ships were sunk, most fled and or surrendered.

Q: Why don't we get to see Zuko rallying the people?

A: Good question. One day I might write a fic about that exact series of events. Between his mental sanity, Iroh's legendary reputation and the fact that the Fire Nation has been pushed into a corner, it's a perfect storm that drives mass desertion.

Q: What happens to Jet? Does he die?

A: He does his mission. His men blow up some towers. He'll return in future a war hero and experienced saboteur.

Q: But Jet's a villain!

A: And this is an AU. In this version, his skills as a Freedom Fighter are used. He has a long, successful career ahead of him. As do the rest of them.

Q: What becomes of the Freedom Fighters?

A: Ever heard stories of a band of war heroes? That'll be them. Idolized into the annals of history as a band of teenagers who sailed to the Fire Nation and valiantly assisted in a larger operation. If anyone's interested, I could write a one-shot about the Freedom Fighters and what they contributed to the Siege.

Q: Will we get more Imperial Siege Cannon?

A: Yes. In fact we will get his bigger brother. The Imperial Siege Cannon: Bigger, Thicker, Longer. Yes, it's named by Toph.

Q: Will we get more marching songs?

A: Yes! Some will be 50s or early 60s love songs. Some will be contributed by the creative mind of fellow Dai Li fan, Ahlyae and the Red Army Ensemble. 

Q: Why is Caldera much bigger than in canon?

A: I never liked that the port to the capital was one roadway. I changed it to be a whole city nestled between two cliffs which ends at the foot of the volcano.

Q: Did Toph order a race? Was Han manipulating Toph?

A: The canon answer is that Han was trying to accrue power by removing his rivals, people who are intimately connected with Toph, aka Mori and Suki.

Q: Where did all the people in Caldera go?

A: They retreated in a exodus west.

Q: Where were the Dai Li gliders?

A: Han held them back because he didn't want to risk his own troops.

Q: How did the Earth Kingdom capture all the retreating city-dwellers?

A: They've got lots of tanks and earthbenders riding earth waves.

Q: You mention the White Lotus, what did they do during the Siege?

A: A large number of White Lotus gathered on the west coast of the Main Island. Bujing's influence was sparse at best so they could regroup and launch their own liberation of the Fire Islands. Think of it like the US, UK, Poles, Anzacs and Free French liberating France, except without D-Day and the Nazis in mass rout.

Q: So we only saw a small part of the Siege?

A: That's correct. There were large flanking maneuvers conducted across the Main Island. As Bujing's forces mostly routed towards Caldera, most of these other army groups fought skeleton crews at best.

Q: If they retreated to Caldera, why did Mori encounter platoons defending entire trenches?

A: For all the Earth Kingdom was losing men, they bled the Bujing Loyalists (who already numbered very little due to desertions) dry.

Q: No Bujing Duel? Why?

A: Mori is _ not _the hero. He's the living testimony to the events that transpired. That's a great one sentence summary of him, by the way.

Q: Why do we miss Azula's Terms of Surrender? If you're allowed to disclose them, what are they?

A: Mori doesn't record them. They aren't anything complicated. Azula demands house arrest, a villa to her own, household staff and to maintain her birthright claim.

* * *

**BEGIN LAO GE SECTION:**

Q: "Long United Must Divide/Long Divided Must Unite"

A: A reference to the starting line of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Nothing lasts eternally. A successful dynasty deteriorates before collapsing into warlords. One warlord unites them all into a succesful dynasty.

**This section will take some of his lines (might be paraphrased) and explain them.**

Q: "As surely as the sun rises in the east/sets in the west"

A: See above. Lao Ge is warning that while Mori may assume all is in unity, in reality it could collapse at any moment.

Q: On Water Avatars

A: He's giving a warning that the next Avatar has the potential to destroy all their progress and bring ruin upon their Kingdom. Kuruk did nothing and let the world fall into chaos. If we take a meta-break and examine Avatar Korra from the eyes of the EK, she destroyed the millenia old Monarchy through her siding with the URN and opening the Spirit Portals.

Q: The Tyrants of Ba Sing Se

A: To those outside of Toph's sphere of influence, a very biased argument could be made that they are tyrants. Someone would have to ignore all of the progress they bring, but hey, growing up in a backwards village in the Southern Water Tribe could do that.

Q: The Avatar, Defender of the People

A: Whether Mori wants to admit it or not, the Avatar will always have at least _ some _ followers. The people of the world have always worshipped the Avatar, they -even within the Kingdom- have _ not _always worshipped a Queen sitting on a Badgermole Throne five thousand miles away. This will pose a massive challenge in the future.

Q: The Earth Kingdom can never last.

A: Once the war ends, the Earth Kingdom reverts back to squabbling lords. It's a sad truth of such a large Kingdom. Toph and Mori will have to figure out how to reform their lands.

Q: "But we unified the Kingdom" "You didn't unify anything!"

A: That's it. That's the point when everything hits Mori. He's been living inside a golden bubble in Ba Sing Se where everyone kowtows and says "Yes Your Majesty". This one line is the culmination of all 220k words.

This is the most important line in the story. No! It is not a soft reboot! It is pointing out the result of all this...coddling. Coddling he didn't even realize was happening. Did he and Toph unify parts of the EK? Yes they did. But not all. 

Some may even call it...the inciting incident.

Q: A corrupt Kingdom

A: This should be obvious. Mori has been decieved by lack of information.

Q: Colonies receiving a better education

A: Educated people tend to be more free-thinking. Free-thinkers are the greatest threat to a monarchy.

Q: Beihai, Gaoling, Liaoyang, Dongfang

A: Examples to prove that Mori knows his geography. From left to right, far south Earth Kingdom, SW Earth Kingdom, NE of Ba Sing Se, lands east of Chameleon Bay/Eastern Sea

Q: Lao Ge saying Mori's name for the first time.

A: I thought his namedrop deserved to be significant. Other stories may make it some kind of romantic scene. I figure, considering the insanity of this fic, why not have the immortal assassin give the namedrop? The man with thousands of years of knowledge?

* * *

**END LAO GE SECTION**

Q: Why is the final chapter so short?

A: It's a full circle from the first one. In both cases, Mori comments on how the prodigy bender has just left, followed by the new ruler being questioned and ending with the same line. It's completely deliberate.

Q: No kiss between Toph and Mori?

A: They aren't the kind of people to engage in such oogies.

Q: What next?

A: A sequel that's already 180k words long.

* * *

**The Sequel**

Q: Does this mean the sequel will have more romance?

A: Cactus-juice laced romance. Like Katara and Aang being oogies, Sokka and Suki getting into closets and Toph and Mori in their own shoulder-punch way.

Q: Why?

A: Why in the name of Kyoshi not?

Q: What about our favorite Fire Lord?

A: Zuko will have the most formal and professional relationship of all these world leaders. He and Mai bow properly, they drink tea properly, they never share affection in public, it's almost like they are world leaders with a sense of dignity. I love them and their relationship.

Q: So Toph/OC?

A: Yes. And no it won't be as oogie-filled as you probably think it is. When I call it a ship I mean he does her hair and she punches him in the shoulder. There won't be a drop of smut anywhere, ever.

Q: Any plot hints?

A: Zuko's gotta get a coronation, then its all up to whatever Toph wants. Expect a Earth Kingdom tour first.

Q: Anything new to the formula?

A: I decided to go ahead with a Dai Li-friendly fic. One that shows the lighter side of the Dai Li (so they'll be stone faced before breaking into song). Specifically, the Dai Li Choir. Yes. A Dai Li Choir. Also a Kyoshi Warrior and a Dai Li agent fall in love. She's the second-in-command, he's a lead singer, both are excellent fighters.

Q: Any tags (with explanation)

A: Earth Kingdom Bureaucracy is a big part of it. Letter-writing, questioning what form goes where, etc.

The Dai Li will have a Singing Club.

There's going to be paragraphs of Encyclopedia Entries, which may or may not be influenced by consumption of whiskey.

There's going to be ALL THE POLITICS. I found that tag and the all-caps feels quite at home in such a fic. If you thought the politics in this were insane, prepare for it times 20x.

Once again, Mori's going to be a sidekick. And refered to as The Consort because even if we know his name, people won't just start refering to him by his personal name. He's still the Consort.

The Avatar's going to demonstrate his ignorance for politics on a macro-scale.

Expect much more awkward Zuko trying to awkwardly run a country that just got beat up in a oversized punching match.

There's going to be lots and lots of Worldbuilding. Lots. Most will be accompanied with an anecdote.

Oh and there's going to be multiple Earth Rumbles because Toph and Bumi have to finally get into a fight and Toph doesn't want to miss ERVII.

Q: When will Chapter 1 be released?

A: Whenever this is released, plus a day.

Q: Aren't you a bit ambitious?

A: You meant crazy. Also, thank you.

Many Thanks.

* * *

Looking at that number of hits, one, that's insane and I didn't expect it, and two, if you're even reading this, thank you. Its people like you who give me more motivation to write this absolutely nonsensical cactus juice laced stuff.

My few friends, you know who you are, I've already thanked you in private chats.

Star-Gazer, whoever you are, you've been following this forever and I await every new comment.

All fifty-odd people who gave kudos. You also know who you are.

I never thought I'd reach 100k words. Now I'm at 220k and I'm on page 2 of Avatar AO3 fanfictions by wordcount. Lots of people will click this and be disappointed, and that's totally fine. Everyone has their cup of tea and I've got mine.

I have one request to you if you're reading this. Take something you liked or laughed at and write your own story. There's so many of the exact same story out there on AO3. You don't need to involve my OC, or even my plot.

**Take something from this and make your own tale.** Most likely a similar perspective. Maybe it's Zuko's journal while hunting the Avatar with more and more self-aware "where the Agni am I?" moments. Maybe it's Iroh during campaign where he faces literal impossible odds and laughs at them. Maybe its also satirical or about someone's sidekick. Bring something fresh to the world. Introduce creativity to a stagnant fandom.

If anyone reads this and wants to do that, all I ask is one line of credit somewhere.

* * *

**To all of you reading this, thank you for reading my fic.**

**Thank you for your time.**

**I hope you have a good day**

**Flameo**

-Mr. A Firebender.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sequel Series:  
https://archiveofourown.org/works/22805290/chapters/54499294


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